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CDC: Suicides among middle-aged spikes By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
Thu Dec 13, 10:55 PM ET
ATLANTA - The suicide rate among middle-aged Americans has reached its
highest point in at least 25 years, a new government report said
Thursday.
The rate rose by about 20 percent between 1999 and 2004 for U.S.
residents ages 45 through 54 - far outpacing increases among younger
adults, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
In 2004, there were 16.6 completed suicides per 100,000 people in that
age group. That's the highest it's been since the CDC started tracking
such rates, around 1980. The previous high was 16.5, in 1982.
Experts said they don't know why the suicide rates are rising so
dramatically in that age group, but believe it is an unrecognized
tragedy.
The general public and government prevention programs tend to focus on
suicide among teenagers, and many suicide researchers concentrate on the
elderly, said Mark Kaplan, a suicide researcher at Portland State
University.
"The middle-aged are often overlooked. These statistics should serve as
a wake-up call," Kaplan said.
Roughly 32,000 suicides occur each year - a figure that's been holding
relatively steady, according to the Suicide Prevention Action Network,
an advocacy group.
Experts believe suicides are under-reported. But reported rates tend to
be highest among those who are in their 40s and 50s and among those 85
and older, according to CDC data.
The female suicide rates are highest in middle age. The rate for males -
who account for the majority of suicides - peak after retirement, said
Dr. Alex Crosby, a CDC epidemiologist.
Researchers looked at death certificate information for 1999 through
2004. Overall, they found a 5.5 percent increase during that time in
deaths from homicides, suicides, traffic collisions and other injury
incidents.
The largest increases occurred in the 45 to 54 age group. A large
portion of the jump in deaths in that group was attributed to
unintentional drug overdoses and poisonings - a problem the CDC reported
previously.
But suicides were another major factor, accounting for a quarter of the
injury deaths in that age group. The suicide count jumped from 5,081 to
6,906 in that time.
In contrast, the suicide rate for people in their 20s - the other age
group with the most dramatic increase in injury deaths - rose only 1
percent.
uicide Risk High for Middle-Aged Whites
Oct. 21, 2008 -- It's a troubling trend that researchers say we know little about.
A new study shows that middle-aged white people are at high risk for suicide, as the U.S. suicide rate spiked among that group during 1999-2005.
Researchers found that white women made up the largest increase in suicides, although white men still make up the largest number of people who kill themselves.
Suicide rates were down among African-Americans and remained stable for Asian and Native Americans among that same time period.
The study and report by Guoqing Hu, PhD, from Central South University in Changsha, China, and colleagues included co-author Susan Baker, MPH, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Why the increase? In a news release, Baker says researchers are not sure: "While it would be straightforward to attribute the results to a rise in so-called mid-life crises, recent studies find that middle age is mostly a time of relative security and emotional well-being."
She urges further research to "explore societal changes that may be disproportionately affecting the middle-aged in this country."
Researchers crunched numbers from data based on files from the National Center for Health Statistics on suicide trends from 1999 to 2005.
Suicide Rates
Here are the main results:
- The suicide rate for white women 40-64 years old went up 3.9% per year during the study period.
- The suicide rate among white men in the same age group increased 2.7% per year.
- Overall suicide rates went up for whites -- 1.1% per year. Suicide rates went down significantly for African-Americans -- 1.1% per year.
- Suicide rates remained stable for Asian and Native Americans.
The authors write that suicide is the fourth-leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 64.
In a news release, Baker says the results signal a change that could lead to better prevention. "Historically, suicide prevention programs have focused on groups considered to be at highest risk, teens and young adults of both genders as well as elderly white men. This research tells us we need to refocus our resources to develop prevention programs for men and women in their middle years."
In background information presented with the findings, researchers map out suicide risk factors such as:
- A previous suicide attempt
- Mental or physical illness or a family history of mental illness
- A history of sexual assault or abuse
- Family history of suicide
- A sense of hopelessness
- Stress
- Having a gun in the home or access to other methods to suicide
- Seeing images of suicide in the media
The authors also offer some of the ways to protect against suicide:
- Learning or developing new coping or problem-solving skills
- Adhering to cultural or religious beliefs that discourage suicide
- Strong support from family and/or community members
- Available high-quality treatment for mental or physical disorders or addictions
The results are published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and will appear in the journal's December 2008 print version.
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