There has been a big in self-harm among teenage girls in the UK. A new from a British medical journal says more and 13-16-year-old girls are self-harming. Researchers looked at the of 600 doctors on nearly 17,000 . The researchers found that there was a 68 per cent increase in self-harm among girls over the three-year of the study. During the same period, stayed for 10- to 12-year-old girls and 17- to 19-year-olds. The self-harm rates for girls are three times than those for boys.
A professor of and population health said increasing and psychological problems were adding to the . He said: "It's important to understand its causes." A children's said: "Self-harm can often be an expression of a deeper , which is why early intervention services to support these children are . Without this, the consequences really can be a of life or death." Self-harm is one of the biggest risk factors for teenage suicide. Suicide is the second most cause of death in under-25s around the world.