APA Reacts to CDC Report on Uptick in Suicides Across United States

Areport released yesterday by the CDC found suicides rates increased significantly in most states between 1999 and 2016, with 25 states experiencing increases of greater than 30%. The report also suggested that more than half of people who died by suicide did not have a known mental health condition.“Suicide is a critical issue for all of us who work in health care,” APA President Altha Stewart, M.D., said instatement released today. “We know from other research that most people who die by suicide have mental health conditions, though they may not have been formally diagnosed or treated. People should know that suicide is preventable. Anyone contemplating suicide should know that help is available, and that there is no shame i n seeking care for your mental health.”The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24 hours/7 days a week. For those seeking help, please call 1-800-273-8255.“Suicide is rarely caused by any single factor, but rather, is determined by multiple factors,” including mental illness and prior suicide attempts, as well as social and economic problems, access to lethal means, and poor coping and problem-solving skills, lead author Deborah Stone, Sc.D., of t he CDC and colleagues wrote. “Examining state-level trends in suicide and the multiple circumstances contributing to it can inform comprehensive state suicide prevention planning.”Stone and colleagues used data from National Vital Statistics System to calculate national and state-le...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Altha Stewart CDC Deborah Stone firearms Liza Gold mental illness National Suicide Prevention Hotline Saul Levin Source Type: research