Korean J Psychosom Med.  2020 Dec;28(2):161-167. 10.22722/KJPM.2020.28.2.161.

Meteorological Factors Associated with the Number of Emergency Room Patients with Wrist-Cutting Behavior

• Han JH
• Suh SW
• Cho GC
• Kim JM
• Seo HT
• Jung YJ
• Seong SJ
• Hwang JY
• Lee WJ

• KMID: 2510468
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.22722/KJPM.2020.28.2.161

Abstract

Objectives
：Although the seasonality of suicide is a well-known phenomenon, little is reported about the seasonality of non-suicidal self-injury. The purpose of this study was to identify the seasonality of wristcutting behavior and to examine its relationship with meteorological factors.
Methods
：To identify the presence of seasonality, we investigated whether there was a difference in the average number of visits per month to an emergency room (ER) of an urban hospital for 226 patients with wrist-cutting behavior enrolled between December 2014 and May 2019. To ascertain significant meteorological factors, we used the multiple Poisson regression using generalized additive model with time, monthly temperature, monthly sunshine hour, and atmospheric pressure in the prior month as explanatory variables.
Results
：In males, the average number of monthly visits to the ER for wrist cutting behavior differed by month and was the highest in September (male : p=0.048, female : p=0.21, total : p=0.28). As a result of multiple regression analysis, the average number of patients admitted to the ER for wrist cutting behavior was related to the interaction between atmospheric pressure in the prior month and temperature in males (p=0.010), and showed a positive correlation with sunlight in females [p=0.044 , β=4.70×10^-3 , 95% CI=(1.19×10^-4 , 9.27×10^-3 )].
Conclusions
：Wrist cutting behavior shows seasonality in male, which is associated with changes in meteorological variables.

Keyword

Non-suicidal self injury; Wrist-cutting behavior; Seasonality; Meteorological factors