[YSPNetwork] Fwd: fyi...more us suicide rate up....due to middle agedwomen--yahoo news

Wed Oct 22 10:36:12 PDT 2008

Thanks for the article, Donna! = )

In taking a closer look, we see that there is a 3.9 percent increase
among middle age women and an 18 percent spike in youth suicides "which
has persisted more than a decade of decreases." Given so few resources,
where will funding come from to support prevention efforts in the middle
age range? For that matter, where is the battle cry for government and
funders to address the 18 percent increase among youth? Wait for it.....

RESOURCES ARE NEEDED TO PREVENT YOUTH SUICIDE!!!! 

Jill A. Hollingsworth, MA
Program Supervisor 
Center for Suicide Prevention
ColumbiaCare Services, Inc.
541.607.7322
http://www.columbiacare.org

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From: yspnetwork-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
[mailto:yspnetwork-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Donna
NOONAN
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 10:06 AM
To: Yspnetwork at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: [YSPNetwork] Fwd: fyi...more us suicide rate up....due to
middle agedwomen--yahoo news

YSPNetworkers,

I'm forwarding an article I received yesterday afternoon. Our
epidemiologists looked at the data for Oregon and it appears that there
is an increase in suicides among women ages 45-64 from the years
1999-2006 in Oregon, reflecting the national trend. If you want more
information, please contact Xun Shen, xun.shen at state.or.us or Matt
Laidler, matthew.laidler at state.or.us, epidemiologists in Injury
Prevention & Epidemiology at the Public Health Division.

Donna

Middle-aged women drive rise in U.S. suicides: study

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor Maggie Fox, Health And Science
Editor 2 hrs 17 mins ago 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. suicide rates appear to be on the rise,
driven mostly by middle-aged white women, researchers reported on
Tuesday.

They found a disturbing increase in suicides between 1999 and 2005 and
said the pattern had changed in an unmistakable way -- although the
reasons behind the change are not clear.

The overall suicide rate rose 0.7 percent during this time, but the rate
for white men aged 40 to 64 rose 2.7 percent and for middle-aged women
3.9 percent, the team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found.

"The biggest increase that we have seen between 1999 and 2005 was the
increase in poisoning suicide in women -- that went up by 57 percent,"
said Susan Baker, a professor in injury prevention with a special
expertise in suicide.

Writing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Baker, Guoqing
Hu and colleagues said they analyzed publicly available death
certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.

"The results underscore a change in the epidemiology of suicide, with
middle-aged whites emerging as a new high-risk group," Baker said in a
statement.

"Historically, suicide-prevention programs have focused on groups
considered to be at highest risk -- teens and young adults of both
genders as well as elderly white men. This research tells us we need to
refocus our resources to develop prevention programs for men and women
in their middle years."

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States and
Baker said the changes are substantial.

"Definitely these are not just little blips," she said in a telephone
interview. "We are looking at a big population change."

She hopes other researchers will study the reasons behind the shifts. "I
certainly think we need research to look at the information that we have
on people who have committed suicide," she said.

"Are these people living alone, with no major responsibility or others
to take care of, or are they people overwhelmed with all of the jobs and
responsibilities they have? We need to find out more about the
conditions under which these people are living."

The middle-aged women and men used various methods to kill themselves --
poisons, prescription drugs, hanging or suffocation, and firearms, Baker
said.

While firearms remain the most common method, the rate of gun suicides
decreased while suicide by hanging or suffocation increased by 6.3
percent among men, and 2.3 percent among women.

In September researchers confirmed an 18 percent spike in youth suicides
in the United States in 2004 persisted into 2005 after more than a
decade of decreases.

And international research published in January found that the young,
single, female, poorly educated and mentally ill are all at higher risk
of suicide.

According to the World Health Organization, suicide rates have increased
by 60 percent in the last 45 years. Depression is the leading cause of
suicide.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Julie Steenhuysen)

_____________________________________________________________________

Donna G. Noonan, MPH, CHES
Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator
Injury Prevention & Epidemiology Program
Oregon Public Health Division
800 NE Oregon, Ste 772
Portland, OR 97232
Phone: 971-673-1023 
Fax 971-673-0990
donna.noonan at state.or.us
http://oregon.gov/dhs/ph/ipe/ysp/index.shtml

Join YSPNetwork, Youth Suicide Prevention listserv for the Pacific
Northwest at
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