CDC: Suicides Among Middle-Aged Spikes
Pastor Dale Morgan
CDC: Suicides Among Middle-Aged Spikes*
By MIKE STOBBE,
AP Medical Writer
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.
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On the Net:
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr