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Monday, April 25th, 2016

Major Study: Suicide Rates in the U.S. Are Soaring

Author:     Marlena Fitzpatrick García
Source:     Alternet (U.S.)
Publication Date:     April 22, 2016
 Link: Major Study: Suicide Rates in the U.S. Are Soaring
Stephan:   According the the National Center for Health Statistics, "In 2014, there were 42,773 deaths by suicide in the United States, making it the 10th leading cause of death. That’s more than twice as many people as have died from Parkinson’s disease or by homicide." I have been following the suicide trend in the U.S. for some time, because in gun deaths suicides are close to 2 to 1 to homicides, and that struck me as a very important datapoint that was telling us something important.   This report does a good job of presenting the data and some of the major tropes. Basically this is another trend line, another alarm telling us  that our society is sick. The media should be asking Presidential candidates about what they propose to do to understand why this is happening, and present policies to bring wellness to this situation. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Suicide deaths are identified with codes U03, X60–X84, and Y87.0 from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision. Credit: Centers for Disease Control

Suicide deaths are identified with codes U03, X60–X84, and Y87.0 from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision.
Credit: Centers for Disease Control

The rate of death by suicide in America increased by 24 percent from 1999 through 2014, according to a new report by the National Center for Health Statistics. (emphasis added)

The report breaks down suicide by age groups and gender, showing an increase among all groups, said Sally Curtin, one of the report’s authors. This increase has been steady since 1999, after a consistent decline since 1986, she said.

In 1999, 10.5 of every 100,000 people committed suicide. In 2014, that number increased by 24 percent, or 13 out of every 100,000 people. In the 1980s, however, the suicide rate had been dropping. The most eye-catching increases were among middle-aged people.

In 2014, there were 42,773 deaths by suicide in the United States, making it the 10th leading cause of death. That’s more […]

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