Changes in Suicide Rates -- United States, 2019 and 2020

Changes in Suicide Rates — United States, 2019 and 2020

Daniel C. Ehlman, ScD; Ellen Yard, PhD; Deborah M. Stone, ScD; Christopher M. Jones, PharmD, DrPH; Karin A. Mack, PhD

Disclosures

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2022;71(8):306-312. 

In This Article

Abstract and Introduction

Introduction

Suicide was among the 10 leading causes of death in the United States in 2020 among persons aged 10–64 years, and the second leading cause of death among children and adolescents aged 10–14 and adults aged 25–34 years.[1] During 1999–2020, nearly 840,000 lives were lost to suicide in the United States. During that period, the overall suicide rate peaked in 2018 and declined in 2019 and 2020.[1] Despite the recent decline in the suicide rate, factors such as social isolation, economic decline, family stressors, new or worsening mental health symptoms, and disruptions to work and school associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have raised concerns about suicide risk in the United States. During 2020, a total of 12.2 million U.S. adults reported serious thoughts of suicide and 1.2 million attempted suicide.[2] To understand how changes in suicide death rates might have varied among subpopulations, CDC analyzed counts and age-adjusted suicide rates during 2019 and 2020 by demographic characteristics, mechanism of injury, county urbanization level, and state. From 2019 to 2020, the suicide rate declined by 3% overall, including 8% among females and 2% among males. Significant declines occurred in seven states but remained stable in the other states and the District of Columbia. Despite two consecutive years of declines, the overall suicide rate remains 30% higher compared with that in 2000.[1] A comprehensive approach to suicide prevention that uses data driven decision-making and implements prevention strategies with the best available evidence, especially among disproportionately affected populations,[3] is critical to realizing further declines in suicide and reaching the national goal of reducing the suicide rate by 20% by 2025.[4]

Death certificate data from the 2019–2020 National Vital Statistics System multiple cause-of-death mortality files were analyzed. Suicide deaths were identified by using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision underlying cause-of-death codes U03, X60–X84, and Y87

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*The classification levels for counties are as follows: 1) large central metropolitan: part of a metropolitan statistical area with ≥1 million population and covers a principal city; 2) large fringe metropolitan: part of a metropolitan statistical area with ≥1 million population but does not cover a principal city; 3) medium metropolitan: part of a metropolitan statistical area with ≥250,000 but <1 million population; 4) small metropolitan: part of a metropolitan statistical area with <250,000 population; 5) micropolitan (nonmetropolitan): part of a micropolitan statistical area (has an urban cluster of ≥10,000 but <50,000 population); and 6) noncore (nonmetropolitan): not part of a metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/urban_rural.htm
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-03-508.pdf
§ https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf
45 C.F.R. part 46.102(l)(2); 21 C.F.R. part 56; 42 U.S.C. Sect. 241(d); 5 U.S.C. Sect. 552a; 44 U.S.C. Sect. 3501 et seq.

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