More than a decade of steadily rising rates have made suicide the nation’s 10th leading cause of death and one of only three causes of death — including Alzheimer’s disease and drug overdoses — that are increasing in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a report that examines trends in suicide at the state level from 1999 to 2016, the CDC reports that suicide rates have increased in nearly all states. In half of the states, the agency found the rate at which people took their own lives rose more than 30%.
In releasing the report, one day after fashion designer Kate Spade was found dead by suicide in New York, CDC officials underscored that more than half the people who died by suicide — 54% — did not have a known diagnosed mental health condition at the time of their death.
A study that examined suicide trends in 27 states found that in many cases, victims acted after experiencing relationship problems or loss; substance misuse; physical health problems; or job, money, legal or housing stress.
In a closer look at suicides in 2015, CDC researchers found that 29.4% took place within two weeks of a crisis — most commonly a breakup or other problem related to an intimate-partner relationship. Among the less-common factors presumed to have contributed to the suicides studied were physical health problems, legal difficulties, a family relationship issue or a job-related problem.
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