Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Suicide Rates Are Up 30 Percent Since 1999, CDC Says (nbcnews.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the upsetting-trends dept.

New submitter Austerity Empowers writes: Amidst all the name calling and straw man arguments about the overall health of America, sometimes it helps to look at data from people who sacrificed everything based on their perception of reality. Whatever politics you subscribe to, the feeling of hopelessness is evidently real, and frightening. NBC News: "Suicide rates are up by 30 percent across the nation since 1999, federal health officials reported Thursday. And only about half the people who died by suicide had a known mental health condition, even though depression had been thought to be the major cause of suicide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. While many cases of mental illness may have been diagnosed, the CDC also noted that relationship stress, financial troubles and substance abuse were contributing to the trends."

2 of 478 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm... by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 5, Informative
    A quick check of older data shows that suicide rates, even though up 30% since the turn of the century, are about the same as a century ago.

    And well below the peak 90 years ago.

    Well below where it was 110 years ago, for that matter.

    Note that the previous peak corresponded with the beginning of the Great Depression. Not really sure what was happening 110 or so years ago to cause a bounce in suicide rates - it overlapped with WW1, but got started well before then....

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  2. 1999 data point is cherry picked by Solandri · · Score: 5, Informative

    The long-term suicide rate for the U.S. has fluctuated between about 10-14 per 100,000 over the last 40 years. 1999 was just the minimum, which the reporter cherry picked to try to turn this into a story. It's been higher in the past.

    Also, suicide rates have been climbing up throughout the world, not just in the U.S. Curiously, homicide rates also stopped the long-term decline around 2010 and started creeping up again. So average global temperature may actually be linked (violence and higher temperatures have been correlated in the past). But nobody really knows for sure why, and anyone who claims they do is just trying to spin the story to fit their preconceptions.