WASHINGTON, Feb 19, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A five-year study on suicide in
the United States found a 20 percent increase in the suicide rate among
45-to-54-year-olds, out-pacing any other age group.
The suicide rates for middle-aged U.S. residents jumped 20 percent, while the
suicide rates for teenagers increased only by 2 percent from 1999 to 2004, The
New York Times said Tuesday.
Suicide rates for men in the middle-age group increased about 15 percent and for
woman about 29 percent in the five-year period. There were more than U.S.
suicides in 2004.
Experts say there is a "social-bias" as much of the suicide prevention efforts
focus on youth prevention programs. Dr. Eric Caine, a leading suicide prevention
official, said there is no "psychological autopsy" making the reasons behind the
spike in suicide rates difficult to assess.
U.S. health officials, however, point to the rampant use and abuse of
prescription and illegal drugs as the cause for at least a portion of the
increased suicide rates.
Other health officials say the increased rate among middle-aged woman may be
linked to the drop in the use of hormone replacement therapy in the
post-menopausal years.
A study in 1989, however, seems to offer a more general explanation for the
rise, saying the changing shape of the U.S. social structure, with family and
friends increasingly on the move, disrupts the social support networks of those
in the baby boom generation.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International