Risk factors for dementia and self-harm: A linkage study

People living with dementia experience poor mental health and high rates of self-harm. We investigated risk factors for self-harm in people aged > 40 years living with dementia and risk factors for dementia after self-harm.

Using linked hospital data from New South Wales, Australia, we defined a dementia cohort (n = 154,811) and a self-harm cohort (n = 28,972). Using survival analyses, we investigated predictors of self-harm for the dementia cohort, and predictors of dementia for the self-harm cohort.

We found self-harm or dementia diagnoses occurred most often within 24 months of a dementia diagnosis or initial self-harm presentation, respectively. Men living with dementia, and people with complex psychiatric profiles, had the greatest risk of self-harm. Men who had self-harmed had the greatest risk of dementia diagnoses.

Men and people with complex psychiatric profiles and dementia may particularly benefit from post-diagnosis mental and behavioral support to reduce risk of self-harm.