SELF-INJURY IN WOMEN IN THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO

Abstract

Introduction: Self-injury is an action against one's own body, which has a possible association with mental health. This panorama is of paramount importance to be analyzed, in order to understand the etiology in a more specific way, and then effectively combat self-injuries and their harms. Objective: To analyze the epidemiological profile of self-harm caused by women in the state of São Paulo. Method: Epidemiological, cross-sectional study, based on data analysis from the DATASUS platform. Cases from 2018 to 2022 related to self-injury in women in the state of São Paulo were analyzed. Results: A total of 61,568 cases of self-injury were observed in women, in the age group of 20 to 59 years, among them the highest rate of self-injury in 2022 with 27% and among the age group of 20 to 29 years, corresponding to 44% of the total. In addition, social indicators related to self-injury were also evaluated and discrepancies were observed in terms of race and education. Discussion: The results analyzed showed a significant variation between social indicators, especially in relation to age and color. It has not yet been possible to verify a direct relationship with the COVID-19 pandemic, but this is partly due to the impact caused by the underreporting of data and the type of study.