CDC NCHS: Youth Suicide and Homicide Rates Rising Rapidly

The Center for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics has released a data brief which reports that both suicide and homicide rates have risen amongst youths over the last decade. The youth suicide rate increase seems to be correlated to social media usage over the last 10 years and the youth homicide rate seems to be correlated with the 2019 chaos sown by Democrats to oust Donald Trump from office.

CDC NCHS Data Brief 471 is too long to reprint here, but here are some highlights:

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db471.htm

Suicide and Homicide Death Rates Among Youth and Young Adults Aged 10–24: United States, 2001–2021
NCHS Data Brief No. 471, June 2023
By Sally C. Curtin, M.A., and Matthew F. Garnett, M.P.H.

Key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System

> Suicide rates for people aged 10–24 increased from 2007 through 2021 (from 6.8 deaths per 100,000 to 11.0), while homicide rates declined from 2006 through 2014, and then increased through 2021.

> For people aged 10–14, the suicide rate tripled from 2007 through 2018 (from 0.9 to 2.9), and then did not change significantly through 2021, while the homicide rate doubled from 2016 through 2021.

> For people aged 15–19, the suicide rate increased from 2009 through 2017, and the homicide rate decreased from 2006 through 2013 but then increased through 2021, surpassing the suicide rate in 2020.

>For people aged 20–24, the suicide rate increased over the entire period, while the homicide rate increased from 2014 through 2020 and remained unchanged in 2021.

Deaths due to suicide and homicide, often referred to collectively as violent deaths, have been a leading cause of premature death to people aged 10–24 in the United States (1–3). A previous version of this report with data through 2017 showed that suicide and homicide rates for people aged 10–24 were trending upward (4). This report updates the previous report using the most recent data from the National Vital Statistics System and presents trends from 2001 through 2021 in suicide and homicide rates for people aged 10–24 and for age groups 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24.

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Summary

In 2021, suicide and homicide were the second and third leading causes of death, respectively, for people aged 10–24 and among the top four leading causes of death for the individual age groups 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 (5). After a period with no significant change in trends from 2001 through 2006–2007, suicide rates for people aged 10–24 increased through 2021, and homicide rates declined through 2014 and then increased through 2021. Homicide rates were lower than suicide rates from 2011 through 2019, but the rates converged by 2020. This change was due to the relatively large annual increase in the homicide rate from 2019 through 2020. For age groups 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24, both suicide and homicide rates increased during the period, with the increases in suicide rates beginning earlier than homicide rates. In addition, the largest annual increases in homicide rates for all groups were from 2019 through 2020, and the largest annual increases in suicide rates were from 2008 through 2009 for those aged 10–14, from 2016 through 2017 for those aged 15–19, and from 2020 through 2021 for those aged 20–24. In 2021, the suicide rate was higher than the homicide rate for people aged 10–14 and 20–24, while the homicide rate was higher for people aged 15–19.....

What is particularly alarming is the increase in suicide among young females. An April CDC Report shows that the increase in youth suicidal behavior is concentrated among females.