The number of suicides in the United States neared 50,000 in 2022, the highest number since 1941, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Suicide is not among the ten leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the phenomenon claimed nearly 50,000 lives, making for a suicide rate of 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people, the highest rate since 1941, the Journal reported, citing provisional tallies of the National Center for Health Statistics.
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“There was a rupture in our economic health and social fabric. We’re still experiencing the aftereffects of that,” wrote Jeffrey Leichter, a psychologist at Sanford Health, to the Journal. On average, suicide rates have increased every year since 2000, when the rate per 100,000 people was recorded as 10.4.
By demographic, the suicide rate among men exceeded the national average considerably, being 23.1 per 100,000 people, according to the report. Men aged 75 and older had the highest rate of any age group, with 44 men in this category taking their lives for every 100,000.
The report also indicated that the suicide rate among Native Americans is twice the national average, while gun-related suicides have increased. However, suicide rates for children between ages 10 and 14 and young adults between ages 15 and 24 declined by 9% and 18%, respectively, which is below their levels before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.
In 2022, the Biden administration announced a new National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, where persons thinking of suicide can dial “988” to seek counsel. It has also launched programs to focus on at-risk populations to prevent suicide among them, which include “American Indians, Alaska Native youth, LGTBQI+ youth, rural men, military veterans, law enforcement officials and health professionals,” according to The White House.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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