Over the course of the last decade, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have studied the death certificates of hundreds of thousands of people and the results are in: suicide rates are increasing for everyone, but women are most at risk.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics revealed that the rate of suicide among women throughout the U.S. has more than doubled at a 60% increase from 2000 to 2016. While the rate of men has also increased — more men died from suicide in 2016 compared to women — the rate at which women have been dying by this method has increased by a significant margin.
Now, six in 100,000 deaths of women are due to suicide, compared to the 21 seen in men. The CDC report also notes that the suicide rates in young women and girls has increased three-fold from 2000 to 2016.
According to the CDC, almost 45,000 people died due to suicide in 2016. While numbers like this might not seem as alarming as the 1.2 million deaths that occur each year from car accidents, the total number of suicides has increased by an astounding 30% since the year 2000.
This report was revealed after the tragic death of purse and fashion designer, Kate Spade on June 5. According to her husband, Andy Spade, Kate’s death was a result of depression and anxiety.
PBS reports that calls to suicide hotlines increased by 25% following the deaths of Kate Spade and chef Anthony Bourdain.
In response to Kate’s death, brother-in-law and comedian, David Spade, donated $100,000 to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in her honor. NAMI works as a mental health awareness and resource organization that aims to help people suffering from mental illness. It also works to end the stigma surrounding mental health and aims to raise awareness regarding mental illness.
“Often, the stigma surrounding suicide leaves people feeling too ashamed to speak up and ask for the help they need,” noted PBS.
While mental health is a significant factor behind many suicides, the CDC noted that it was more often a set of conditions that lead a person to commit suicide over a single factor, such as depression.
