Self-harm may be contagious among teenagers, says study

TORONTO: Self-injury — behaviours like cuting oneself without the intent to die — may be contagious among teenagers, who are more likely to harm themselves when they know someone who has, say researchers.

The study, published in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, used 2014 data collected from over 1,400 Ontario teenagers between the ages of 14-17.

The team focused on the answers to the question, “Has a friend of yours ever hurt themselves without the intention to die?”

A positive response saw the respondent two to three times as likely to answer ‘Yes’ to the question of whether they have thought about, or done, the same.

These results are of concern, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, because, apart from being a sign of acute distress, non-suicidal self-injury is a predictor of later suicidal behaviour and more widespread.

“Non-suicidal self-injury is much more common than suicide atempts — twice as common in this study — and many, many times more common than death by suicide,” said study author Dr Ian Colman from University of Otawa in Canada.

Dr Colman’s study builds on previous research showing teens who are exposed to suicide among their peers are more than twice as likely to demonstrate suicidal behaviour or harbour suicidal thoughts than those who are not exposed.

This sort of communication of ideation and behaviour is a form of contagion, and its spread can be tracked by epidemiologists just as physically communicable diseases are studied.

Knowing that suicide is made more likely by knowledge about someone else’s suicide, societal measures have been put in place to protect vulnerable populations from exposure.

Less obvious are the measures that can slow or protect against socially contagious behaviours among teens, who can be expected to communicate freely among themselves, without referring to guidelines.

Communication is key, according to experts. Conversations with a trusted adult who lends a listening ear, with no threat of judgment, can be helpful throughout adolescence, including for someone who is having thoughts of self-harm.

“There’s a belief that a parent talking to their child about suicide may increase the risk of suicide or self-harm,” said Dr Colman.

DAILY ALMOND INTAKE: Meanwhile, in an unrelated development according to the World Health Organisation, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is the number one cause of deaths across the globe, and in India.

CVD is also a costly disease to treat and can cause a huge economic burden on the patient, and his/her family.

For India in particular, CVD has become a severe cause of concern, owing to the disease’s accelerated buildup, early age of onset in the population and the high case fatality rate. Some factors that have contributed to the rise of CVD cases across India include the south Asian genetic makeup and it’s proneness to the disease, the ever changing lifestyle, lack of exercise, dietary imbalance and a high intake of saturated and/or trans fats amongst the population.

In the past, multiple studies have also shown that regular consumption of almonds may help reduce low density lipoprotein (LDL “bad”) cholesterol levels, a recognized risk factor for CVD — especially amongst Indians.

A recent research by Tuts University shows that eating 42.5 grams of almonds each day compared to not eating almonds may help reduce healthcare costs associated with cardiovascular disease among US consumers.

The objective of this study, funded by the Almond Board of California, was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of almond consumption in preventing coronary heart disease through changes in LDL cholesterol levels in the US population, using both short-term base case analysis and 10-year risk prevention.

The researchers developed a model to assess the relationship between eating 42.5g of almonds per day versus no almond intake.

CVD parameters included the probabilities of increasing LDL levels, developing acute myocardial infarction (MI, or heart atack), Mi-related surgeries, and death due to the disease and surgeries and the cost of disease and procedures in the US population in 2012.

The cost of almonds used in this research was also factored into the model and was based on price in the US market in 2012, as well.

The base-case model used in this research, which was a study of 150 US adults with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, showed that eating 42.5g of almonds per day would result in an annual cost savings of $363 compared to eating no almonds. The almond eaters had reductions in CVD risk factors including LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, body weight and Apoliprotein B (also known as Apo-b, the main protein found in harmful LDL cholesterol).

These improved parameters decreased the average healthcare costs for treating CVD.