Men more likely than women to use cutting to self harm

Cutting is used significantly more often by men than by women as a means of self harm, according to new figures from Ireland's National Registry of Deliberate Self-Harm, says this report in The Irish Medical News. "In terms of method, drug overdose was the commonest method of self-harm involved in 76 per cent of all acts registered in 2005 and self-cutting was the second commonest method of self-harm, used in one-in-five cases, and significantly more often by men (25 per cent) than women (17 per cent)," the IMN report says.

The provisional figure for suicides in 2005 was 431 and the level of youth suicide is currently fifth highest in Europe. Men under 35 years account for 40 per cent of all suicide.

For self-harm figures for earlier years see this report from the National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.