America's Suicide Rate Rose by Nearly 30 Percent Since 1999
America's rate of suicide has gone up since the turn of the millennium, a dangerous trend that has become evident in the country across all age groups and ethnicities. The growth has been shockingly consistent — an increase of 30 percent, even among both city dwellers and rural residents.
This national trend has been studied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the span of 1999 to 2016, and the results were disturbingly consistent with 25 states seeing increased suicide rates in excess of 30 percent.
Using data from 2015, as obtained from the National Violent Death Reporting System which covered 27 states in 2015, the various circumstances that may have led to suicides affected people, both with or without known mental health conditions like depression, according to the study released on Friday, June 8.
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Suicide has overtaken many other causes to become the tenth leading cause of death in America in 2016, as The Atlantic pointed out. While the study did not explore the reasons why suicide rates have been on the rise, the CDC report has established some trends.
Annual rates of suicide have steadily climbed up in 44 states and Washington D.C., some more than others — 25 states have seen their suicide rates rocket up by more than 30 percent. Even states like Nevada, which did not see a steady increase in suicide rate, already record a high number of incidents per year, as Gizmodo noted.
Even the incidents involving self-harm, which may or may not have been attempts at suicide, have also dramatically increased as well as recorded from emergency rooms across the country. Recorded emergency cases soared by 42 percent from 2001 to 2016.
Depression, anxiety and other indicators or mental health issues that may alert friends and family members to suicidal tendencies cannot be relied upon more than half the time as well, as these results suggest.
According to data collected by the CDC in 2015 across 27 states, 54 percent of people who took their own lives that year had no record of mental health issues.
Suicides across states saw a uniform increase, with a consistent trend of more men dying compared to women. However, overall rates of women dying by suicide have increased in 43 states, compared to 34 states for men — rates for women are rising faster and in more regions since 1999.
The biggest increase in suicide rates, however, were especially noticeable for people aged 45 to 64 years old, as what may seem evident in recent high profile suicides.
The CDC strongly encourages concerned people to help those at risk, from promoting social connectedness to increase a sense of belonging and access to "informational, tangible, emotional, and social support," to help them solve their issues when it comes to finances or relationships.
For those who are having a crisis in life or know someone going through one, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 is always ready to assist. They can also be reached through text via the Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
