A study released from the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciencesindicates there has been a significant increase in the number of suicides among middle-aged, less-educated white Americans since 2000. That trend has unfortunately been consistent in Utah.
Andrea Hood, the suicide prevention coordinator for the Utah Department of Health, said Utah’s suicide rate is higher than the national average. Plus, Utah has experienced a significant increase in male suicide rates in the last 15 years from 22.4 to 31.2 per hundred thousand.
“It is an unfortunate health disparity that rates of depression and suicide appear to be higher in lower socioeconomic and education classes,” she said.
Hood said understanding why the suicide rate among men is much higher than women is a complex situation.
“Males tend to be less likely to seek help for mental health problems. They also tend to be more comfortable with lethal means of suicide.”
The study from Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences also showed that American’s suicide rate has continued to increase among middle-aged people, while other world powers, such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, have seen a significant decrease in suicides since 2000.
“We are also spending more money on health care, so maybe there are some issues with our healthcare system,” Hood said.