The relationship between nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior and manners of death: a multicenter autopsy study

Authors: SAİT ÖZSOY, HACER YAŞAR TEKE, HÜSEYİN ÇETİN KETENCİ, ERTUĞRUL GÖK, KENAN KARBEYAZ, TANER AKAR, HANİFE ALKURT-ALKAN, MESUT AKYOL, MEHMET AYHAN CÖNGÖLOĞLU, SERMET SEZİGEN, AHMET ZAHİT DURSUN, ALPER ÖZKÖK, SERHAT SARI

Abstract: Background/aim: This study aimed to determine the relationship between nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSIB) and manners of death.Materials and methods: This study retrospectively evaluated 6604 autopsy cases evaluated at forensic medicine institutes of six major cities of Turkey. The study group consisted of all cases with NSSIB findings. The control group was created from cases without signs of NSSIB. Results: We found that the numbers of possible suicide and homicide cases in the NSSIB (+) group were significantly higher than in the NSSIB (-) group. The possibility of death due to suicide was 3.213 times and homicide was 2.004 times higher than natural deaths in the NSSIB (+) group compared with the NSSIB (-) group.Conclusion: The presence of NSSIB might increase the risk of death due to suicide and homicide, especially in adolescence.

Keywords: nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior, suicide, homicide, postmortem examination, autopsy, manner of death

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