In 2013, there were more than 41,000 deaths as a result of suicide in the U.S. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death, claiming more lives each year than death due to motor vehicle crashes. Especially alarming, it is the second leading cause of death for young people age 10 to 24.
Suicide rates vary considerably within different population subgroups and are affected by factors such as socioeconomic status, employment, occupation, sexual orientation, and gender identity. For example, the rates of suicide were almost four times higher for men than for women and were highest among Whites. In 2013, suicide rates were 11.7 per 100,000 for American Indians/Alaska Natives, 6.0 per 100,000 for Asians/Pacific Islanders, 5.3 per 100,000 for Hispanics, and 5.4 per 100,000 for African Americans.
However, racial and ethnic disparities can be deceptive.
In July of this year, JAMA PediatricsExternal Web Site Policy published a research paper analyzing childhood suicide trends from 1993 to 2012. One critical issue the authors found was that while school-aged suicide trends have stayed constant, trends on a racial level have changed substantially. In fact, the stable overall suicide rate has “obscured a significant increase in suicide incidence in black children.”
To read more of this post by Dr. Jorielle Brown and David Johns, go to: Suicide and Race on the SAMHSA web site -- http://blog.samhsa.gov/2015/07...d-race/#.Vbj7SO90zcs
(Brown is director of the Division of Systems Development, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Johns is executive director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.)
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