Marc Siegel MD, professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Health writes in an op-ed for The Hill (10/1) to discuss the rising suicide rates in the US, saying “the numbers are not subtle.” A report by the CDC found that “between 1999 and 2016 suicide rates increased in almost all states, with a greater than 30 percent increase in 25 states.” CDC’s Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Dev Houry says research “demonstrates that many factors contribute to suicide beyond mental health conditions alone,” adding that “overdose misuse associated with the opioid overdose epidemic could be driving the suicide rate higher.” Siegel adds that “research has shown that talking about suicide not only doesn’t cause it to occur, but can also help prevent it, by breaking through an individual’s isolation and decreasing associated stigma.”
Related Links:
— “Suicide rates are rising across the US and the numbers are not subtle, “Dr. Marc Siegel, The Hill, October 01, 2018.