More Americans committed suicide in 2022 than in any other year on record, according to data released by the CDC on Wednesday.
The National Center for Health Statistics recorded nearly 50,000 suicides last year, up 2.6 percent increase from the prior year. The 2022 suicide rate of 14.3 per 100,000 Americans is the highest since 1941.
The increase in suicides was largely driven by older Americans taking their own lives. Suicide rates for young people returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 after soaring in 2021 amid the social isolation and financial stress caused by the pandemic and resulting lockdowns. Suicide rates for children aged 10-14 declined by 18 percent in 2022, and rates for young people aged 15-24 declined by 9 percent.
Aging adults are at the highest risk of suicide, as they combat loneliness, bereavement, and declining health. Men 75 and older had the highest rate of suicide in 2022, at nearly 44 per 100,000 people. According to NCHS data from 2021, firearms are by far the leading mechanism of suicide for men, and the likelihood of their use increases with age.
Read more at Nationalreview.com
What Are Your Thoughts?
