The CDC recently came out with its provisional report on deaths by suicide for 2022.
The report is sobering.
It shows that 49,449 Americans look their own life last year.
On a population-adjusted basis that is the most suicides in the United States since 1941.
There were 14.3 deaths/100,000 from suicide in the United States in 2022.
Suicides in 1941 represented the last year of elevated suicide levels that roughly corresponded with the years of the Great Depression.
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| Credit: https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-suicide-over-the-past-century/ |
Suicide levels then decreased markedly after World War II and were somewhat stable until the year 2000.
Suicides have generally been climbing each year since then.
What is even more troubling is that while suicides in the United States have been increasing the rates of suicides in most other countries in the world have been declining.
The United States used to be in the middle of the pack compared to the representative countries in the graph below. The U.S. now is at the top of the pack.
What is interesting is that the United States has many more suicides than counties like El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela in which we are seeing thousands of illegals crossing our border seeking asylum supposedly because they are oppressed and in danger for their lives in their home countries.
Or countries such as China and Egypt in which personal freedom is greatly restricted or Argentina which has seen massive hyperinflation and a struggling economy.
The United States also is comparing very unfavorably versus European allies such as the U.K., France and Germany.
Although the overall suicide rate is 14.3/100,000 there is a significant difference in the rate between males and females,
The suicide rate among males is 4 times what it is for females.
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| Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr034.pdf |
The suicide rate for males age 75 and older is particularly alarming.
43.7/100,000.
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| Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr034.pdf |
That is 10 times the rate of females of the same age!
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| Source:https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsrr/vsrr034.pdf |
Interestingly, the highest female rate for suicides is found in the age 45-54 age group. However, this rate is still less than a one-third of the rate for males of the same age.
What is causing the increase in suicides in the United States?
My guess is that an increasing level of disconnection from other human beings caused by the internet, smartphones and social media is a significant factor.
The wealth in the United States, combined with technology, has allowed people to work from home, shop from home, find their mate on the internet and focus their friendships on 140 character texts on their phones. The need for personal connection has all but disappeared.
Consider the data on the number of close friends that adults in the U.S. reported having in 2021 vs. 1990.
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| Number of close friends had by adults in the United States in 1990 and 2021 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358672/number-of-close-friends-us-adults/ |
In 1990, 63% of U.S. adults reported having five or more close friends. In 2021, only 38% did.
In 1990, only 27% of U.S. adults reported having fewer than three close friends. In 2021, 49% of adults stated that this was their reality.
The most common number of close friends in 1990 was 10 or more (33%). In 2021 the most common number of close friends was just three (17%).
It is also generally a fact that males are less social and closely connected with friends than women are.
This also becomes a bigger and bigger problem as men age where they are more likely to be disconnected from others to a much greater degree than when they worked.
Combine this with other factors that may affect older males such as death of a spouse, disability and disease and it all can culminate in depression leading to suicide.
Think about this as we head into the holiday season.
Is there someone that you could help out by reaching out and making a connection?
It may be the best gift you can give this year,
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