The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new report that shows suicide rates increased in every state but one from 1999 to 2016. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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A new report posted Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that suicide rates increased in every state but one from 1999 to 2016.
What did the report show?
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2016, nearly 45,000 people were lost to suicide. And over the last 18 years of available data, suicide rates increased more than 30 percent in at least half of the states, according to the June issue of the CDC publication, Vital Signs.
The report also revealed that rates have increased in every state except Nevada. Though Nevada ranks in the top 10 for states with highest suicide rates, it is the only state that saw a rate decline — all other states saw rates increase between 6 percent (Delaware) and 58 percent (North Dakota).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Though mental health issues are commonly assumed to be the cause of suicide, there is rarely just a single factor, the CDC noted:
Mental health conditions are often seen as the cause of suicide, but suicide is rarely caused by any single factor. In fact, many people who die by suicide are not known to have a diagnosed mental health condition at the time of death. Other problems often contribute to suicide, such as those related to relationships, substance use, physical health, and job, money, legal, or housing stress.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
More than half — 54 percent — of those who died by suicide didn't have a known mental health problem. And there are several differences between those people with known mental conditions and those without who die by suicide, including:
● Women make up 16 percent of those with no known mental health problems but 31 percent of those with such problems.
● Firearms are far more likely to be the method of choice for people without mental health conditions.
● Poisoning is twice as likely to be the method of suicide for people with known mental health issues.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The 10 states with the highest suicide rates
According to the most recent available data from the CDC, these states have the highest annual rate of suicide per 100,000 people:
No. 10: South Dakota
● Men: 33.6; Women: 11.3
● All: 22.6
No. 9: Nevada
● Men: 35.4; Women: 11.2
● All: 23.1
No. 8: Colorado
● Men: 36.3; Women: 10.4
● All: 23.2
No. 7: Oklahoma
● Men: 37.3; Women: 10.3
● All: 23.5
No. 6: Idaho
● Men: 38.0; Women: 11.8
● All: 24.7
No. 5: Utah
● Men: 38.0; Women: 12.6
● All: 25.2
No. 4: New Mexico
● Men: 40.7; Women: 12.0
● All: 26.0
No. 3: Wyoming
● Men: 44.6; Women: 12.6
● All: 28.8
No. 2: Alaska
● Men: 42.9; Women: 13.2
● All: 28.8
No. 1: Montana
● Men: 45.5; Women: 13.1
● All: 29.2
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