http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2013/05/baby-boomer-suicide-rates-rise-including-minnesota
The incidence of suicide has risen sharply in recent years among Americans aged 35 to 64 while staying essentially unchanged among younger and older demographic groups, according to a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Using 1999-2010 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System, the CDC researchers found that the suicide rate increased 28.4 percent among people in the 35-to-64-years age range, rising from 13.7 suicides per 100,000 persons in 1999 to 17.6 per 100,000 persons in 2010.
That compared to a 7 percent increase during that same period among young people aged 10 to 34 and a 4.9 percent decrease among people aged 65 and older. The changes in those age groups were considered statistically insignificant, however.
The CDC researchers cite three possible reasons for the suicide-rate increases among 34-to-64-year-olds: the recent economic downturn, the easier availability of opioid prescription drugs, and some as yet unidentified factor that may be unique to the life experiences of the “baby boomer” generation. As the researchers point out in their study, baby boomers had an unusually high suicide rate during their adolescent years as well.
The incidence of suicide has risen sharply in recent years among Americans aged 35 to 64 while staying essentially unchanged among younger and older demographic groups, according to a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Using 1999-2010 mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System, the CDC researchers found that the suicide rate increased 28.4 percent among people in the 35-to-64-years age range, rising from 13.7 suicides per 100,000 persons in 1999 to 17.6 per 100,000 persons in 2010.
That compared to a 7 percent increase during that same period among young people aged 10 to 34 and a 4.9 percent decrease among people aged 65 and older. The changes in those age groups were considered statistically insignificant, however.
The CDC researchers cite three possible reasons for the suicide-rate increases among 34-to-64-year-olds: the recent economic downturn, the easier availability of opioid prescription drugs, and some as yet unidentified factor that may be unique to the life experiences of the “baby boomer” generation. As the researchers point out in their study, baby boomers had an unusually high suicide rate during their adolescent years as well.
