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The number of girls admitted to hospital for “cutting” injuries has nearly doubled in the past five years.

The disturbing statistic is one of several in a report on intentional injuries among youth that was released Tuesday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The study looked at hospital reports from everywhere but Quebec to see how and how many young people (ages 10 to 17) are being hurt by themselves or by others.

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Among the findings from more than 17,500 hospitalizations in 2013-14:

• Self-harm accounts for more than 80 per cent of intentional injuries;

• The number of hospitalizations for self-harm has increased by more than 85 per cent in five years;

• Girls account for 80 per cent of young people admitted for self-harm injury;

• The number of girls admitted for cutting themselves with a sharp object rose to 173 in 2013-14 from 91 five years early, a 90 per cent increase; and

• Poisoning, whether by alcohol, prescription and non-prescription drugs, or other poisons, is the most common method of self-harm among both boys and girls.