A concerning public health issue
The Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital says youth suicides have increased during COVID-19, particularly among males, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Native youth, and non-Hispanic Black youth. This is a concerning public health issue since suicide is the second leading cause of death for individuals aged 5-24 years in the US.
More suicides during the COVID-19 pandemic
The researchers sourced national suicide trends from the Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) database of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), analyzing individuals aged 5-24 years with suicide listed as the cause of death. The start of the COVID-19 period was defined as March 2020. The study found that 5,568 US youths died by suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with the majority of the youth decedents being male, non-Hispanic White, and dying by firearm. That’s an average of 15 youth deaths a day during 2020.
Compared to pre-pandemic suicide rates, more suicides during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred among males, preteens aged 5-12 years, young adults aged 18-24 years, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Native youth, and non-Hispanic Black youth. Suicides by firearms were higher than expected during the pandemic, while suicide deaths by hanging or suffocation and poisoning were lower than expected. Suicide rates during the pandemic were also higher than expected among non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander females, non-Hispanic White males aged 5-12 years, non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Native males, and non-Hispanic Black males aged 18-24 years. Notably, no subgroup had significantly fewer suicides than expected.
Alarming results among Pacific Islander females
Donna Ruch, PhD, co-author of the study and principal investigator in the Center for Suicide Prevention Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said there was an overall increase in the suicide rate. Still, the changes were not distributed equally across all subgroups. The higher-than-expected suicide rate among non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander females is of particular concern, as this group has a traditionally low suicide rate relative to other young people.
The importance of suicide prevention interventions
The study emphasizes the importance of suicide prevention interventions to address racial and ethnic disparities in youth at the highest risk for suicide. Additionally, the increase in suicide by firearms highlights the need to promote safe gun storage practices. Further research and clinical attention are also required for the understudied subpopulation of preteens at risk of suicide.
Image Credits
In-Article Image Credits
Crisis Counseling sign posted on at Golden Gate Bridge to prevent suicides via Wikimedia Commons by Mariyum Noor with usage type - Creative Commons License. September 4, 2015Featured Image Credit
Crisis Counseling sign posted on at Golden Gate Bridge to prevent suicides via Wikimedia Commons by Mariyum Noor with usage type - Creative Commons License. September 4, 2015
