Breaking News English

There has been a [steep / stoop] rise in reports of self-harm among young teenage girls in the United Kingdom. A new study from the British Medical Journal reports that more and more girls [ageing / aged] 13 to 16 suffer from self-inflicted harm. Researchers from the University of Manchester looked at data [in / on] nearly 17,000 [patients / patience] from more than 600 doctors' [surgeries / operations] . The researchers found that there was a 68 per cent increase [on / in] self-harm among 13- to 16-year-old girls [over / above] the three-year period of the [study / studying] . During the same period, rates stayed [content / constant] among 10- to 12-year-old girls and 17- to 19-year-olds. The study said self-harm rates among girls are three times higher than [those / them] for boys.

Doctor Nav Kapur, study author and [professorial / professor] of psychiatry and population health, said increasing [stressed / stress] and psychological problems were probably what was [fuelled / fuelling] the trend. He said: "We must take self-harm [serious / seriously] . It's important to understand its underlying [caused / causes] ." A UK children's charity said: "Self-harm can often be an expression of a [deeper / deepen] problem, which is why early intervention services to support these children are [vitally / vital] . Without this, the consequences really can be a [matter / mutter] of life or death." Self-harm is one of the biggest [risky / risk] factors for suicide among teens. Suicide is now the second most common cause [for / of] death in the under-25s worldwide.