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New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in collaboration with the University of Glasgow, has found that adolescents who have self-harmed five or more times in their lives have a threshold significantly higher pain than adolescents who did not.
The study, published in JAMA network open, is the largest study of its kind examining the relationship between self-harm and bodily sensation, found that the threshold of sensitivity, both painful and not, increases dramatically the more a participant has self-harmed in the past.
64 participants aged 12 to 17 were recruited from a mix of community and residential care settings, as well as schools and youth groups in London and Glasgow. Each individual underwent a series of 13 tests, including thermal and pain detection thresholds, and pressure pain thresholds to establish when they detected a change in sensation or started to experience pain.
At no time were participants asked to endure the pain and were given strict instructions to stop the test the moment they felt any sign of discomfort.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in adolescents, and self-harm is the strongest predictor of suicide. Investigators now say it has the clinical potential to be an effective test to identify young people most at risk.
Dr Dennis Ougrin, co-lead author of the King’s IoPPN study, said that ‘rates of self-harm and suicide among children and adolescents have increased in the UK, and we most often see the first Self-harm episodes occur around the age of 12.
“From the studies we’ve done, we can see that teens who have self-harmed five or more times in the past have a significantly higher pain threshold, especially in people living in care.”
Young people in care make up less than 1% of the UK population under 18, but account for around half of all suicides. There is no reliable biomarker for suicide yet, but it is something that Dr. Ougrin hopes can be changed.
“Once a person has become comfortable enough with the pain, when they raise the threshold well above what they would normally be in someone who has not self-harmed, it is is when we can say that she is more at risk of suicide. “
Investigators are now hoping that these results can be converted into a simple test using a pressure sensor to effectively identify those at risk so they can benefit from targeted support.
Study co-lead author Professor Stephen McMahon, King’s IoPPN, said: “We have used these quantitative measures of sensory function in many different patient groups, and I am amazed at the magnitude of the effects observed. among these young people who self-harm. “.
Professor Helen Minnis, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Glasgow, said: “I was delighted to be part of this exciting study, which could not have been carried out at well without the strong support of Glasgow City Council Social Work and Chief Social Worker Susanne Millar. “
Tatum Cummins, co-first author of the King’s IoPPN study, said: “Surprisingly, these findings extended to non-painful stimuli. -prejudice.
“What we don’t yet know is whether hyposensitivity to pain is a pre-existing risk factor for self-injury, rather than a result of it. Our findings that youth in care have sensory abnormalities, whether or not self-injuriously injured, is striking and will require further investigation. “
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King’s IoPPN, in partnership with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Maudsley Charity, is opening a leading global center for child and youth mental health. The Pears Maudsley Center for Children and Youth is slated to open in 2023 and will bring together researchers and clinicians to help find solutions that will transform the landscape of children’s mental health.
This study was made possible with funding from the Medical Research Council (UK) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Center.
For more information, please contact Patrick O’Brien, Senior Media Officer ([email protected])
Assessment of Somatosensory Function and Self-Injury in Adolescents (doi: 10.1001 / jamanetworkopen.2021.16853) (Tatum M. Cummins, MSc; Oliver English, MSc; Helen Minnis, PhD; Daniel Stahl, PhD; Rory C. O ‘ Connor, PhD; Kirsty Bannister, PhD; Stephen B. McMahon, PhD; Dennis Ougrin, PhD, MBBS) has been published in JAMA network open
About King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 35 UK universities in the world and one of the top 10 in Europe (QS World University Rankings, 2020/21) and among the oldest in England. King’s has more than 31,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries around the world, and some 8,500 employees.
King’s has an exceptional reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), eighty-four percent of research conducted at King’s was rated as “world class” or “internationally excellent” (3 * and 4 *).
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About the University of Glasgow
Ranked in the world’s top 100 universities, we deliver world-class research and education that is changing the world with impact. We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK universities and are the top of this group for student satisfaction. We are linked to seven Nobel Prize winners and 81% of our research is rated as excellent internationally. More information is available here: http: // www.
About the Medical Research Council
The Medical Research Council is at the forefront of scientific discoveries to improve human health. Founded in 1913 to fight tuberculosis, the CRM now invests tax dollars in some of the best medical research in the world in all areas of health. Thirty-three CRM-funded researchers have won Nobel Prizes in a wide range of disciplines, and CRM scientists have been behind discoveries as diverse as vitamins, DNA structure, and the link between smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of randomized controlled trials, the invention of MRI and the development of a group of antibodies used in the manufacture of some of the most popular drugs. most successful ever. Today, CRM-funded scientists are tackling some of the biggest health challenges facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising tide of chronic diseases associated with aging, to threats posed by growing microorganisms. rapid mutation. The Medical Research Council is part of UK Research and Innovation. https: /
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