General practice consultation patterns before and after intentional overdose: a matched control study.

This study investigated the general practice consultations of 46 patients during the year before and 13 weeks after hospital admission for deliberate self-poisoning. These were compared with data for controls matched for age, sex, family structure and area of residence. The frequency of consultations increased as parasuicide approached but this effect was due to large increases in a few patients. The greatest increase in the number of consultations and an increase in subjects consulting for physical problems occurred four to six months before the event. The seriousness of the attempt assessed by suicidal intent was unrelated to consulting pattern either before or after overdose. The rate of default from appointments was less than for controls, although this was not significantly different. Because of the problems in identifying when intentional self-harm will occur and the common presentation being psychosocial distress rather than mental illness, intervention to prevent parasuicide is likely to prove even more difficult than for suicide.