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Self-burning in Iraqi Kurdistan: proportion and risk factors in a burns unit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Nazar M. Mohammad Amin ,
Nashmeel Rasool Hamah Ameen ,
Reem Abed  and
Mohammed Abbas
Nazar M. Mohammad Amin
Affiliation:
College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani, Iraq
Nashmeel Rasool Hamah Ameen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Sulaimani Teaching Hospital, Sulaimani, Iraq
Reem Abed
Affiliation:
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Mohammed Abbas
Affiliation:
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester, UK, email mohdgum@hotmail.com
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Abstract

To determine the rate of self-burning among all burns patients admitted to the Burns and Plastic Surgery Centre at Sulaimani University in Iraqi Kurdistan and to identify the risk factors and motives, all burns patients, aged 8 years and over, admitted between 1 September 2009 and 30 April 2010 were surveyed. Of the 200 patients interviewed, 54 (27%) reported self-burns and 146 (73%) reported accidental burns. The risk factors for self-burning included mental illness, female gender and younger age. Almost two-thirds of those who reported self-burns (32, 60.4%) had intended to kill themselves. The most commonly cited reasons for the act were family problems (24, 44%) and marital problems (13, 24%). Burns in the self-burning group were more severe and were associated with a higher mortality rate (34, 63%) than in the accidental burns group (29, 20%).

Type
Research papers
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , August 2012 , pp. 72 - 74
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 2012 

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Footnotes

Acknowledgment: we would like to thank Dr Riadh Abid, who commented on an earlier version of the paper.

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