More US Kids, Young Adults Commiting Suicide

Rate rises most sharply among teen girls
By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 6, 2007 5:30 PM CDT
More US Kids, Young Adults Commiting Suicide
"Our news today is sobering. It raises a great concern for us," said Dr. Ileana Arias, director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. "We don't yet know if this is a short-lived increase or if it's the beginning of a trend," she said.   (Index Open)

Suicide rates among America's children and young adults surged by 8% between 2003 and 2004, the most significant increase over the past 15 years, a new Centers for Disease Control report shows. The hike coincides with a 22% decrease in antidepressant use, but it could be related to changes in methodology and risk factors, the Psychiatric Times reports.

The reasons aren't clear, but the jump can be traced to trends in three demographic groups—girls 10 to 14, girls 15 to 19, and boys 15 to 19. Alterations in their patterns reflect overall change. Among girls, for example, suicides by firearms dropped while rates involving the more accessible practices of suffocation and hanging rose. (More youth stories.)

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