According to official data released on Friday, the suicide rate in the US increased in 2021, notably among young men. This uptick concludes a two-year drop.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released preliminary data showing that the number of suicides increased from around 46,000 in 2020 to 47,650 in 2021. (CDC).
From 13.5 in 2020 to 14 last year, the age-adjusted suicide rate per 100,000 individuals increased. The rate jumped 8% among young boys and men between the ages of 15 and 24, which was the most notable increase.
The United States had a recent low of 10 suicide deaths per 100,000 persons in 2000, following a decade of decline.
The development of drugs that lower suicide risk may have played a role in the 1990s decline, according to Jill Harkavy-Friedman of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, who spoke to the media.
According to Harkavy-Friedman, the rate then began to rise, possibly as a result of new warning labels placed on antidepressants, and by 2018, it had increased by 35% since 2000.
After that, it decreased by 5% between 2018 and 2020.
Harkavy-Friedman claims that it is difficult to interpret the most recent fluctuations.
She added that it was important to look at patterns over a long period of time since “we don’t really know yet what the full repercussions of this kind of rise are.”
Particularly, the Covid-19 pandemic’s function is nuanced.
Researchers have shown that “people tend to join together amid stressful circumstances initially and this can serve as a protective factor against suicide, however this societal cohesion may not last as time passes,” according to the AFSP.
Men are said to be more inclined to employ fatal methods and to have greater difficulties getting mental health care, among other arguments.
This preliminary information does not yet give a breakdown of the deceased’s ethnicity or income.
Suicides are the second most common cause of death among those aged 10 to 34, according to the CDC.
According to Harkavy-Friedman, “We’re extremely excited about 988, which is the new mental health crisis line, and the crisis services that go along with it because this will provide options to people who feel so desperate and in such agony.
