Self-Injury Mortality: Global Ascertainment and Prevention

The aim of this review was to explore self-injury mortality (SIM) for its utility and potential in capturing deaths due to a desire or indifference to ending one's life. Suicide deaths are underreported, and a high percentage of substance use disorder deaths are misclassified as "accidental" or "undetermined." The challenge is how to plan interventions when such deaths are inadequately ascertained? Shifting the focus from suicide to SIM unmasks a hidden global crisis. Globally, over 727,000 suicide deaths are reported each year. However, if adjusted for estimated underreporting and substance use disorder deaths, the actual number of people driven by a desire to escape despair by bringing one's life to an end could be more than double this. A case is argued for construction of globally applicable composite measures of SIM. To respond intelligently to suicide and self-injury prevention opportunities requires that the etiology and natural history of underlying mental disorders are understood, so that effective interventions are implemented. This is illustrated for the following disorders: anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, gambling disorder, and substance use disorder. The keys to reducing SIM as an outcome of mental and behavioral disorders remain timely clinical intervention by informed health professionals and supportive families and communities. Policy and service interventions to address determinants and risk factors are equally important. The ultimate enabling agent for ensuring conditions for optimal mental health must be society itself and how it prioritizes elements within the political economy.