HealthDay News — From 2004-2005 to 2012-2013, there was an overall increase in suicide attempts among US adults, according to a study published online in JAMA Psychiatry.
Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, from Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues used data from the 2004 to 2005 wave 2 national Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and the 2012 to 2013 NESARC-III to assess trends in suicide attempts in the United States. A total of 69,341 adults, aged 21 years and older were surveyed.
The researchers observed an increase in the weighted percentage of US adults making a recent suicide attempt from .62% in 2004-2005 to .79% in 2012-2013 (risk difference adjusted for age, sex, and race/ethnicity [ARD], .17%).
Continue Reading
Adults aged 21 to 34 years had a significantly larger ARD for suicide attempts than adults aged 65 years and older (.48% vs .06%). Compared with college graduates, adults with no more than a high school education had a significantly larger ARD for suicide attempts (.49 vs .03%). Significantly larger ARDs were also seen for adults with antisocial personality disorder, a history of violent behavior, or a history of anxiety or depressive disorders.
“The pattern of suicide attempts supports a clinical and public health focus on younger, socioeconomically disadvantaged adults,” the authors write.
Reference
Olfson M, Blanco C, Wall M, et al. National trends in suicide attempts among adults in the US [published September 13, 2017]. JAMA Psychiatry. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.2582
