From 2007 to 2017, the U.S. suicide rate saw a 56% increase among 10- to 24-year-olds.Image by Goran Horvat from Pixabay
The suicide rate in the U.S. has been increasing for a decade and rising sharply among children aged 10-14, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published Oct. 17.
From 2007 to 2017, the U.S. suicide rate (the number of persons per 100,000 population who committed suicide annually) rose from 6.8 to 10.6 – a 56% increase – among 10- to 24-year-olds.
While the rate for all age groups rose during this time period, more drastic increases were seen among certain age groups:
- 10- to 14-year-olds: 0.9 to 2.5 per 100,000 – up 178%.
- 15- to 19-year-olds: 6.7 to 11.8 per 100,000 – up 76%.
The rate among 20- to 24-year-olds increased 36%, moving from 12.5 to 17 per 100,000.
“In 2017, suicide and homicide were the second and third leading causes of death for persons aged 15-19 and 20-24 and ranked second and fifth among persons aged 10-14,” the report said.
The full report is available here.
The National Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255, and an online chat feature is available on the hotline’s website.
This article first appeared at EthicsDaily.com.
