A Disturbing Trend on the Rise

The apparent suicide of designer Kate Spade on June 5 did more than shock and sadden her fans across the country. It also reignited a conversation about the many faces–and causes–of suicide. The circumstances around Spade’s death remain unclear, but the tragedy underscores a disturbing reality in the U.S. Suicide is a growing public-health problem that doesn’t discriminate on the basis of demographics. “This is not a condition that is related to success or failure,” says Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “No one is immune.” Federal data shows that suicide rates have increased steadily across nearly every demographic over the past two decades, rising by 28% from 1999 to 2016. Almost 45,000 Americans died by suicide in ’16, making it the 10th most common cause of death that year, according to the CDC. Increases have been so drastic that researchers have blamed suicide, along with substance abuse, for recent declines in overall U.S. life expectancy, according to an editorial published in a recent issue of the BMJ. While suicide is most common among middle-aged and older adults, rates are on the rise in many age groups. Almost twice as many children were hospitalized for thinking about or attempting suicide in 2015 as in ’08, according to a study published in May in the journal Pediatrics. Young women appear to be disproportionately affected by the...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized kate spade mental health Suicide Source Type: news