Recently published federal data show that approximately 49,500 people committed suicide in the United States last year, marking an all-time high since 1941.
The figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on August 10 have shown a startling 20-year growth in suicides, with 31,655 logged in 2002.
Over this stretch of time, the numbers steadily climbed until 2018, peaking at 48,300 suicides, before dipping in 2019 and 2020 to 47,511 and 45,979.
In 2021, the numbers began to climb again to 48,183, meaning there was a 2.6% uptick recorded in 2022.
CDC data indicated that 55% of last year’s suicides were carried out by guns, followed by suffocation at 26% and poisoning at 12%.
Although a suicide rate has yet to be calculated for 2022, and data by state hasn’t been released, the preliminary findings of the CDC report suggest that it is becoming more prevalent for Americans to take their own lives.
Obesity, a growing public health problem in the U.S., has been shown to worsen mental health issues.
Digging further into the data by demographic, the age groups seeing the greatest increase in suicides were ages 45 to 64 at 6.6% and ages 65 and older at 8.1%.
The only group seeing a decrease in suicides between 2021 and 2022 was that of ages 10 to 24, with an 8.4% drop.
The alarm was raised in late 2021 over the mental health of young Americans, with CDC data showing suicide as the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on children’s mental health, calling for more public awareness and efforts to improve mental health services.
“Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real and widespread. … The future well-being of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation,” Murthy said.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, Mazzy Health has recently launched a mental telehealth program for Texans between the ages of 10 and 22, increasing easy access to such services.
Overall, mental health awareness has been building, with last summer even seeing the nation’s first three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 going live.
The move was even hailed by one psychiatrist as “one of the most exciting things that has happened” in mental health care, according to The Associated Press.
As covered in The Dallas Express, the Biden administration also has been pushing for new rules that will require insurers to expand mental health coverage and conduct in-depth examinations of patient outcomes. The impact of these rules has been the subject of some debate.