US suicide deaths reached a record high in 2022: Preliminary data
5 Min Read
The suicide rate last year is 5% higher than the previous record high set in 2018. It represents a 10% increase over the preceding two years.
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A war veteran cries while helping in the set up of American flags on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in March 2014. (AFP)
Preliminary data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that there were more suicide deaths in the US last year than in any previous year on record.
In 2022, intentional self-harm said at least 49,449 lives, almost 15 fatalities for every 100,000 people, died.
After two years of decline, the suicide rate increased in 2021. In 2022, rates reached the previous high from 2018, and they continued to rise.
The suicide rate last year, which was 14.9 fatalities for every 100,000 people, is 5% higher than the previous record high of 14.2 deaths for every 100,000 people set in 2018 and represents a 10% increase over the preceding two years.
These increases "for many, many years," need to be realized, Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer, said on an episode of SiriusXM’s Doctor Radio Reports, aired on Thursday.
"There was a slight decline in 2019 and 2020, but really over the past 15 years, we’ve been on this trajectory. And I know we can prevent this. I know we can intervene. There’s much that can be done, and I think it’s de-stigmatizing mental health issues, and realizing that many people are at risk, and it’s not just mental health. … Not everybody who dies from suicide has a mental health issue. It could be a precipitating factor that led to it."
The National Vital Statistics System receives data each month from states and other authorities, which is collected by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The most recent revision, which was released on Thursday, is a "set of provisional data for 2022," but the actual data won't be available until later in the year.
In 2021, suicide increased to the 11th most common cause of death, and preliminary data for 2022 confirms this. It is just above influenza and pneumonia and below chronic liver disease.
The preliminary data indicates that firearms were used in more than half of all suicides in 2022.
According to a different study from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, which was released in June, the current increase in suicide rates is mostly caused by suicides involving guns. While the rate of suicides with firearms increased 10% between 2019 and 2021, the rate of suicides without firearms actually decreased 8% during the same period.
According to the JHU analysis, white men and people 75 and older will be most at risk for gun suicide in 2021.
This year, 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has responded to about 5 million calls, texts, and online chat messages, according to information from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The Veterans Crisis Line, which service personnel, veterans, and their families can contact by dialing 988 and selecting option 1, was connected to almost a fifth of those contacts.
Read: Pentagon enforces mental health law after army suicide rates skyrocket
However, the vast majority of US consumers are unaware that they can contact qualified counselors who are equipped to de-escalate a crisis, offer emotional support, or connect them to other mental health services by calling, texting, or chatting online at (988).
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is either unknown to more than 80% of Americans or they have never heard of it, according to a survey conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and released last month.
According to a survey performed last fall by CNN in collaboration with the Kaiser Family Foundation, nine out of ten respondents in the US believe the nation is going through a mental health crisis.
According to Houry, there are things that anyone may do to assist those who are having difficulty.
"Asking and talking about suicide is important. … If somebody does say that they’re thinking about suicide, really help keep them safe. If you have medicines or a firearm in the home, make sure that those are secured. Be there. If you ask somebody about it, they disclose any stressors, you’ve gotta be there for them. And that really helps them prove and increase that connectedness and then help them connect, whether it’s to a medical professional, a psychiatrist, or 988. And then follow up. … If you’ve reached out to a friend or a family member and done this, follow up and see how they’re doing."
Read: Americans die younger because US encouraging self-destruction
