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As Suicide Rates Rise, Scientists Find New Warning Signs

6/10/2016

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Scientists are making headway in the search for solutions to one of the most vexing problems in mental health: How to predict who is at risk for suicide.

Researchers are hunting for so-called biomarkers, such as patterns of brain activity on fMRI scans or levels of stress hormones in the blood, linked to suicidal thoughts and acts. They are creating computer algorithms, fed with tens of thousands of pieces of data, to come up with measures of risk. They are looking at sleep patterns and even responses to specialized computer tasks that can reveal unconscious biases toward self-harm.

The need is great. The reality is that it is very hard for psychiatrists and psychologists to identify who is at risk for suicide. They rely heavily on simply asking patients.
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But people often conceal their plans. Indeed, researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found that clinicians were no more accurate than chancein predicting which patients visiting a psychiatric emergency room were likely to attempt suicide in the next six months.
Widely accepted risk factors, like being male, having a history of mental illness and experiencing stressors like a job or relationship loss, are often not specific enough to be much help.

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By Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal


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How Do You Help Someone Who Is At Risk Of Suicide?

5/2/2016

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How do you help someone who is at risk of suicide?

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that suicide has been steadily increasing in the U.S. since 1999. Although men tend to kill themselves at higher rates than women, the biggest rate increase during that time has been among girls 10-14 years old, and the second biggest increase has been among women 45-64 years old.

But for every person who dies by suicide, there are many, many more who struggle with suicidal thoughts. "Lots of people think about it," says Dr. Jill Harkavy-Friedman of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. "Suicide attempts are less frequent. Fortunately, dying by suicide is even less frequent."
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NPR talked with Harkavy-Friedman and Dr. Jitender Sareen of the University of Manitoba, both psychiatrists, about what is known about youth suicide and best practices for preventing suicide. Harkavy-Friedman studies teen suicide prevention, and Sareen studies suicide trends among Native people in the Arctic. The interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Read the Full Article with Dr. Sareen as he answers questions on how to help someone you are concerned about.

By Rebecca Hersher, NPR

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U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High

4/22/2016

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WASHINGTON — Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults. The rise was particularly steep for women. It was also substantial among middle-aged Americans, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since the 1950s.

The suicide rate for middle-aged women, ages 45 to 64, jumped by 63 percent over the period of the study, while it rose by 43 percent for men in that age range, the sharpest increase for males of any age. The overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent from 1999 to 2014, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the study on Friday.
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The increases were so widespread that they lifted the nation’s suicide rate to 13 per 100,000 people, the highest since 1986. The rate rose by 2 percent a year starting in 2006, double the annual rise in the earlier period of the study. In all, 42,773 people died from suicide in 2014, compared with 29,199 in 1999.

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By Sabrina Tavernise, The New York Times

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Getting Serious About Reducing Suicide: More "How" and Less "Why"

12/17/2015

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"Between 2005 and 2012, age-adjusted mortality rates declined for all 10 leading causes of death in the United States—except for suicide. The rate of suicide increased from 10.9 per 100 000 in 2005 to 12.6 per 100 000 in 2012.1 Suicide accounted for 41 149 deaths in 2013, the latest year for which national data are available. In 2013, suicide was the second leading cause of death in 15- to 34-year-olds, claiming 11 226 lives in this age group.2 What is different about suicide, and why has there been so little progress in preventing it?

Suicide is intertwined with mental illness. People who have chronic mood disorders or psychosis are 10 to 20 times more likely to commit suicide than people without those disorders. Serious mental illnesses affect about 5% of the population but account for 47% to 74% of the population attributable risk (PAR) of suicide, according to a recent review of studies.3 However, despite substantial public investments in research on the etiology of mental illnesses over the last several decades, rates of onset and recovery have not improved, and the suicide rate has been steadily increasing in the United States."
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Read the full article in JAMA


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Take Action to Prevent Bullying & Suicide

10/8/2015

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October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.  Bullying involvement - including bullying others and getting bullied - can have increased risk for suicide-related behaviors.  

Learn more about the relationship between bullying and suicide
Visit VetoViolence for more information
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1 Photo. 6 Words. #VetoViolence

8/4/2015

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During the month of August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Violence Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) are sponsoring a social media project, 1 Photo, 6 Words #VetoViolence.  


To participate in this project, take a photo or create a unique image with 6 words that:
  • Promotes an action that supports people and helps prevent suicide
  • Educates others about how to save lives, OR
  • Honors National Suicide Prevention Month (September)
Post your photo and six words on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #VetoViolence


CDC will select entries to be featured on their VetoViolence Facebook and federal social media channels during National Suicide Prevention Month in September.


Learn More
  • 1 Photo, 6 Words. #VetoViolence
  • Veto Violence
  • VetoViolence Facebook
  • CDC: Suicide Prevention
  • SAMHSA: Suicide Prevention

1 Photo, 6 Words. VetoViolence
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