There has been a steep rise in reports of self-harm among girls aged 13 to 16, according to a study of data from GP practices across the UK.
The BMJ study, which looked at figures from 2011-2014, said GPs could be getting better at picking up self-harm.
But it was likely that rising stress and psychological problems in young people were also behind the trend.
The NSPCC said giving children support early could be a matter of life or death.
Since 2001, girls have had much higher rates of self-harm than boys – 37.4 per 10,000 compared with 12.3 in boys.
While self-harm rates stayed constant among 10- to 12-year-olds and 17- to 19-year-olds, there was a 68% increase among 13- to 16-year-olds over the three-year period studied.
This took the rate in girls from 45.9 per 10,000 in 2011 to 77 per 10,000 in 2014.
The researchers, from the University of Manchester, looked at data for nearly 17,000 patients from more than 600 GP practices.
– BBC News
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