Suicide Overtakes Car Accidents as Leading Cause of Injury-Related Death

October 11 2012

 

By Dr. Mercola

A recent report on causes of death shows that suicide has now overtaken traffic accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death in the US. One reason for that is because car accident occurrences are down. But even so, the rate of suicide rose by an unhealthy 15 percent between 2000 and 2009, and poisoning (the number one cause of which is prescription drugs) rose by a whopping 128 percent.

Fatal prescription drug overdoses surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in 2007, according to the Department of Health. Many of the overdoses (36 percent) involve prescription opioid painkillers, which were actually the cause of more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

Some authorities believe many of these drug poisonings may actually be intentional suicides, even though they may have been classified as accidental. According to the study's author:

"Suicides are terribly undercounted; I think the problem is much worse than official data would lead us to believe. There may be 20 percent or more unrecognized suicides."

If his estimation is correct, we may be looking at upwards of a 35 percent rise in suicide between the years of 2000-2009... It's estimated that a person commits suicide every 15 minutes in the United States.

For each of these suicide deaths, an estimated 8-25 people made suicide attempts.1 Taken together, the latest preliminary 2010 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists intentional self-harm, or suicide, as the 10th leading cause of all death in the United States.

Whatever means they use to commit suicide, the rapid increase of people reaching that level of desperation leave us wondering: Why?

Is a Crumbling Economy to Blame?

There's clearly evidence suggesting that economic recessions and financial hardships can be a significant contributing factor.2 According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates tend to rise and fall along with recessions and economic booms. For example, during the 1932 Great Depression, as many as 22 people per 100,000 committed suicide. The current economic collapse has also led to a well-documented rash of suicides across Europe.

According to the New York Times:3

"Especially in the most fragile nations like Greece, Ireland and Italy, small-business owners and entrepreneurs are increasingly taking their own lives in a phenomenon some European newspapers have started calling 'suicide by economic crisis.'

...In Greece, the suicide rate among men increased more than 24 percent from 2007 to 2009, government statistics show. In Ireland during the same period, suicides among men rose more than 16 percent. In Italy, suicides motivated by economic difficulties have increased 52 percent, to 187 in 2010 – the most recent year for which statistics were available – from 123 in 2005.

...In Ireland, the phenomenon has been linked to what some therapists call Celtic Tiger depression, the period after 2008 characterized by an influx of middle-aged male patients who complained about sleeplessness and a lack of appetite in the aftermath of that nation's destructive boom-and-bust real estate market."

Other Contributing Factors to Rising Suicide Rates

As one person is quoted as saying in the New York Times, people don't kill themselves because they have debts, rather it's a combination of factors that lead to desperation. If you have a family history of suicide, have been exposed to suicidal behavior (such as from other family members or friends) or have suffered/witnessed physical or sexual abuse or domestic violence, your risk of suicidal behavior increases.

However, the primary risk factor for suicide is depression in combination with substance abuse, and this could include alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription drugs. It's estimated that more than 90 percent of those who end up taking their own lives fit into this category.4

Another important factor that cannot be overlooked is poor health, which can stretch already strained finances, family and living conditions to the very limit. And then there's the factor of taking too many different drugs simultaneously. While this certainly increases your risk of accidental overdose, polypharmacy in and of itself can have a devastating effect on both physical and mental health, including increased risk of depression, physical accidents like falls, and/or self-harm, along with symptoms that may otherwise exacerbate depression.

More:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/11/suicide-and-poisoning-rate-increased.aspx?e_cid=20121011_DNL_art_1

 

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