Youth suicide rates rise sharply; access to health care can help decrease risk, CDC says
------Suicide rates spiked among preteens, teenagers and young adults between 2007 and 2017, according to a new finding released in October by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC notes that people who have experienced child abuse, bullying or sexual violence have a higher suicide risk, but that protective factors like family and community support or “connectedness,” as well as easy access to health care, can help decrease the risk for suicidal thoughts and behavior.
------Research also indicates that early intervention in the form of initiatives like suicide screening at emergency rooms and pediatricians’ offices play a role in helping to prevent suicide.
While the report in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Data Brief did not explore reasons for the increase in youth suicides, it found that suicide was the second-leading cause of death for people ages 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24 during that span.
------Actually, suicide rates have risen across the board in recent years, increasing 33 percent among the overall U.S. population between 1990 and 2017, according to data from the American Psychiatric Association. The rate of suicides among young people is far outpacing that general increase, CDC figures show.
------For example, the suicide rate for children ages 10-14 declined from 2000 to 2007, then nearly tripled to 2.5 per 100,000 people from 2007-2017. The suicide rate for those ages 15-19 was stable from 2000 to 2007, and then increased 76 percent from 2007 (6.7) to 2017.
------Among adults ages 20-24, the suicide rate increased 36 percent from 2000 (12.5) to 2017 (17.0), with a greater pace of increase from 2013 to 2017 (6 percent annually, on average) than from 2000 to 2013 (1 percent annually).
------According to Stanford Children’s Health, “Many teens who attempt suicide do so during an acute crisis in reaction to some conflict with peers or parents.” The health system further notes that those who attempt suicide are particularly reactive to such conflicts because they have a long-standing history of problems at home or school, suffer from low self-esteem, believe no one cares, are depressed, abuse alcohol or drugs or have experienced other acutely stressful events, such as an unwanted pregnancy, trouble with the law or not meeting high parental expectations.
------Stanford Children’s Health lists potential warning signs of a suicide attempt, including noticeable changes in eating or sleeping habits; unexplained or unusually severe, violent or rebellious behavior; withdrawal from family or friends; sexual promiscuity, truancy and vandalism; drastic personality change; agitation, restlessness, distress or panicky behavior; talking or writing about committing suicide, even jokingly; giving away prized possessions; and doing worse in school.