Suicide Rate Unchanged In 2006
The National Center for Health Statistics recently released final mortality data for 2006 and the report shows that the age-adjusted suicide rate in America was 10.9 people per 100,000 people, the same as in 2005 and the same as in 2004. Interestingly, none of this has been reported by the media (suggested storyline: “Three years. No Change. What happened?”)
The total number of people who committed suicide in 2006 was 33,300, about 50 percent by using a firearm. (2005 was originally reported at 11.0 per 100,000 but was revised to 10.9.)
There was a teensy improvement in the teen suicide rate (see page 30 of the report). There were increases of 4.2 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively, among people aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64. The suicide rate remains quite high among older adults, but even there there was some improvement in older age groups.
Men, as usual, had four times the rate of suicide as did women (18 per 100,000 versus 4.5 per 100,000) with white males being the big driver of the rate amongst men (see page 76).
Wyoming was the worst state (21.9 people per 100,000) followed by Alaska (20), Montana (19.7), Nevada (19.5) and New Mexico (18). Washington, D.C. was the lowest (5.1 per 100,000) followed by New Jersey (6.5). (See page 104.)
While it’s hard to know what to take away from this data (things didn’t get better or worse overall), I’m sure researchers will dissect all of the data and spin out a pharma-worthy paper on the benefits on anti-depressants. I bet you no one makes the point I did last year:
“One other point worth making is that in 1999, the feds announced a national goal of reducing the rate of suicide by 50 percent by 2010. The rate of suicide in 1999 was 10.5 per 100,000 people, so the rate has actually increased by about 5 percent during that time.”
With four years of data left in this decade, it’s pretty clear that the feds’ 2010 public health goal will not come anywhere close to being met.
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Posted in Furious Seasons