Suicide, self-harm, and suicide-related behaviours in Canada: Self-harm:

On this page

• Across Canada
• Differences by age and sex
• Suggested citation

Across Canada

Self-harm is defined as when a person harms themselves on purpose, no matter the reason why. This section focuses on intentional self-harm that resulted in hospitalization.

Self-harm hospitalizations are underestimated in these statistics, as some injuries may have been presumed to be accidental or undetermined. Self-harm hospitalizations are also more likely to capture severe cases of self-harm that required medical attention. National level data on emergency visits for self-harm are unavailable and are not included on this page.

Each year, there are roughly 20,000 hospitalizations that occur due to self-harm. Rates differ from region to region, with those in the territories and some provinces being higher than the national rate.

Figure 1. Age-standardized self-harm hospitalization rates per 100,000 people, in people aged 10 years and older in Canada, by province and territory, ...

Notes

• The age-standardized self-harm hospitalization rates in Canada are from the Canadian Institute of Health Information (...).
  • Reasons for admission to acute-care hospital discharges are coded using the 10^th revision of the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10).
  • Codes X60 to X84 are used to identify self-harm hospitalizations.
• Learn more:
  • Self-harm hospitalizations (Canadian Institute for Health Information)

Figure 1: Text description

Differences by age and sex

The age-standardized rate of self-harm hospitalization is higher for females than males:

• Females: 86.2 per 100,000 people.
• Males: 44.6 per 100,000 people.

Self-harm hospitalization rates are higher in younger age groups for both males and females. Rates are higher for females than for males among people under age 65.

Figure 2. Age-specific self-harm hospitalization rates per 100,000 people aged 10 years and older in Canada by age group and sex, ...

Notes

• The age-specific self-harm hospitalization rates in Canada are from the Canadian Institute of Health Information (...).
  • Reasons for admission to acute-care hospital discharges are coded using the 10^th revision of the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10).
  • Codes X60 to X84 are used to identify self-harm hospitalizations.

• Learn more:
  • Self-harm hospitalizations (Canadian Institute for Health Information)

Figure 2: Text description

Suggested citation

Public Health Agency of Canada. Suicide, self-harm and suicide-related behaviours in Canada: .... Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada; ....