A new study as revealed newly diagnosed dementia patients have an increased risk of self-harm, particularly during the first six to 12 months.

The University of New South Wales study analysed hospital data, capturing information for more than 180,000 people admitted to hospital between 2001 and 2015.

The researchers, whose expertise was in medicine, psychiatry and psychology, examined statistics relating to two cohorts of patients – one group had been diagnosed with dementia, while the other had engaged in self-harm.

Study lead author, Dr Adrian Walker, said the data supported previous smaller studies and anecdotal evidence that suggested a link between diagnoses and self-harm.

“We were interested in finding people who came to those health services and had been diagnosed with dementia to see if we could find out, what are the rates and predictors of self-harm among people living with dementia?” Dr Walker said.

“We know that that’s an important question because dementia itself is associated with not only a lot of neurological changes, but also a lot of grief and a lot of anxiety. And it can create this perfect storm of factors that may contribute to self-harm.”

Supervising author and Scientia Associate Professor Simone Reppermund said the figures suggested health services, including primary care physicians, should view dementia diagnoses with a new sense of urgency.

“The message to clinicians and indeed, the outside world, is that it is really important, once a person gets a diagnosis of dementia, that psychosocial and mental health supports are kicking in straight away,” she said.

“We would like to see people who are initially diagnosed to get the support very early on to prevent self-harm and suicide later on.

As part of the study, researchers spoke with a number of advocates, including those living with dementia as well as carers.

Stephen Grady was working as a measurement scientist when he was diagnosed with dementia at just 60 years of age.

“So here was me as a very high functioning member of society, one of the leading people in my field,” Mr Grady told the study authors.

He said the diagnoses left him feeling as though he had gone from being a valuable contributor to society to having no value at all.

“So, there's this whole question of, okay, ‘Is your life over, is it still worth living?’. These are the kinds of questions that I believe a lot of us ask ourselves, but it's only when you find the value in your life again, that you can refute them.”

Mr Grady, now 68, said the hospital data confirmed what he already knew - that the first 12 months after diagnosis were crucial.

Other findings of the research were:
• Those living with dementia who self-harmed tended to be younger at their initial dementia diagnosis than those with no record of self-harm.
• Being divorced, widowed or separated predicted a lower likelihood for people with dementia to present to hospital for self-harm than those that were still living with a partner.
• People living with dementia with complex psychiatric profiles also had a higher risk of presenting to hospital for self-harm.


Lifeline: 13 11 14   lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467   suicidecallbackservice.org.au
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636   beyondblue.org.au/forums
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978   mensline.org.au
National Dementia Helpline: 1800 100 500   dementia.org.au/helpline/webchat