Some disturbing trends about suicides

In my March 19 post noting the arrival of spring, I noted that the months of April, May, and June are generally the leading time of the year for suicides.

Among other trends in the United States, consider:

1. Males are almost four times more likely to kill themselves than are females.
2. Guns are the most common form of suicide, accounting for more than half of the deaths. Suffocation is second, at one-quarter, and poisoning at 12 percent.
3. Between 2001-2020, suicide rates rose roughly 36 percent.
4. It’s the tenth leading cause of death overall.
5. By age groupings, people 85 and older have the highest rate (22.4 per 100,00), followed by 75-84 (19.6) and 25-34 (19.4). For 35- to 54-year-olds, it’s the fourth leading cause of death; for 10- to-34-year-olds, it’s the second highest cause.
6. It’s now the leading cause of death for 13- and 14-year-olds, having doubled in the decade of 2008 to 2018. Bullying, school stress, and use of social media are considered potential causes. Higher rates are also reported among young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual compared to their peers who identify as heterosexual.
7. Among racial/ethnic groupings, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska natives have the highest rate (28.1), followed by non-Hispanic white (17.4). Non-Hispanic Asian has the lowest (6.8).
8. The American Psychological Association notes that suicides have increased most sharply in rural communities, where loss of farming and manufacturing jobs has led to economic declines over the past quarter century. Economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton, examining the steep rise in deaths from suicide, drugs and alcohol among white, middle-aged Americans in that period, argue these “deaths of despair” are linked to a deterioration of economic and social well-being among the white working class.
9. Others with higher-than-average rates of suicide are veterans as well as workers in certain industries and occupations like mining and construction.
10. For every suicide death, there were another three hospitalizations, eight emergency room visits, and 38 self-reported suicide attempts.