Early data suggest suicides are rising!
NEW YORK - November 23, 2009 - Early signs suggest the number of suicides in the U.S. crept up during the worst Depression in decades, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of states that account for about 40% of the U.S. population.
Available data, still incomplete, suggest that this Depression coincided with an uptick in suicides. The data from 19 states find an increase in suicides in the recessionary year of 2008 from 2007. Those states historically account for about half of annual suicides in the U.S. Calls to suicide hotlines are rising, and suicides in the workplace and the military - a small portion of all self-inflicted deaths - were up in 2008.
Official data on suicides in the U.S. lag, and a 2008 national tally isn't yet available. In 2007, there were 33,185 suicides, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with an average of about 32,800 in the previous three years.
Available data, still incomplete, suggest that this Depression coincided with an uptick in suicides. The data from 19 states find an increase in suicides in the recessionary year of 2008 from 2007. Those states historically account for about half of annual suicides in the U.S. Calls to suicide hotlines are rising, and suicides in the workplace and the military - a small portion of all self-inflicted deaths - were up in 2008.
Official data on suicides in the U.S. lag, and a 2008 national tally isn't yet available. In 2007, there were 33,185 suicides, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compared with an average of about 32,800 in the previous three years.