Short-term and long-term effects of psychosocial therapy for people after deliberate self-harm: A register-based, nationwide multicentre study using propensity score matching

Annette Erlangsen*, Bertel Dam Lind, Elizabeth A. Stuart, Ping Qin, Elsebeth Stenager, Kim Juul Larsen, August G. Wang, Marianne Hvid, Ann Colleen Nielsen, Christian Møller Pedersen, Jan Henrik Winsløv, Charlotte Langhoff, Charlotte Mühlmann, Merete Nordentoft

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    94 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Although deliberate self-harm is a strong predictor of suicide, evidence for effective interventions is missing. The aim of this study was to examine whether psychosocial therapy after self-harm was linked to lower risks of repeated self-harm, suicide, and general mortality. Methods: In this matched cohort study all people who, after deliberate self-harm, received a psychosocial therapy intervention at suicide prevention clinics in Denmark during 1992-2010 were compared with people who did not receive the psychosocial therapy intervention after deliberate self-harm. We applied propensity score matching with a 1:3 ratio and 31 matching factors, and calculated odds ratios for 1, 5, 10, and 20 years of follow-up. The primary endpoints were repeated self-harm, death by suicide, and death by any cause. Findings: 5678 recipients of psychosocial therapy (followed up for 42·828 person-years) were matched with 17 034 individuals with no psychosocial therapy in a 1:8 ratio. During 20 year follow-up, 937 (16·5%) recipients of psychosocial therapy repeated the act of self-harm, and 391 (6·9%) died, 93 (16%) by suicide. The psychosocial therapy intervention was linked to lower risks of self-harm than was no psychosocial therapy (odds ratio [OR] 0·73, 95% CI 0·65-0·82) and death by any cause (0·62, 0·47-0·82) within a year. Long-term effects were identified for repeated self-harm (0·84, 0·77-0·91; absolute risk reduction [ARR] 2·6%, 1·5-3·7; numbers needed to treat [NNT] 39, 95% CI 27-69), deaths by suicide (OR 0·75, 0·60-0·94; ARR 0·5%, 0·1-0·9; NNT 188, 108-725), and death by any cause (OR 0·69, 0·62-0·78; ARR 2·7%, 2·0-3·5; NNT 37, 29-52), implying that 145 self-harm episodes and 153 deaths, including 30 deaths by suicide, were prevented. Interpretation: Our findings show a lower risk of repeated deliberate self-harm and general mortality in recipients of psychosocial therapy after short-term and long-term follow-up, and a protective effect for suicide after long-term follow-up, which favour the use of psychosocial therapy interventions after deliberate self-harm. Funding: Danish Health Insurance Foundation; the Research Council of Psychiatry, Region of Southern Denmark; the Research Council of Psychiatry, Capital Region of Denmark; and the Strategic Research Grant from Health Sciences, Capital Region of Denmark.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)49-58
    Number of pages10
    JournalThe Lancet Psychiatry
    Volume2
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2015

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