September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the CDC has released its latest report on suicide deaths in America. After seeing a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, data shows U.S. suicide rates are ticking back up again.
According to the report released by the CDC Thursday, Sept. 26, the suicide rate has gone back up to the same level it was at in 2018 — which was the highest rate the U.S. has seen in more than seven decades. Just under 49,500 suicide deaths were recorded in 2022, and preliminary data from the CDC shows 2023 was similar, with 49,300 reported.
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The national suicide rate has been rising steadily for nearly 20 years now, with the exception of a two-year drop close to the beginning of the pandemic. Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2022 and more than half (about 55%) involved firearms.
Breaking it down further, though, paints a grimmer picture.
Suicide was the second leading cause of death in people 10 to 14 years old and 20 to 34 years old, and the third for kids aged 15 to 19. Suicide deaths also continue to be more prevalent among men and boys, and the highest rate for any group was men over 75 years old with suicide accounting for 44 of every 100,000 deaths.
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