ATLANTA: About 49,500 people committed suicide in 2022 in the US, the highest number ever, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Western media reported on Thursday.
CNN reported that the suicide rate increased in 2021 after showing two years of decline but the latest increase in suicide deaths crossed all the previous records from 2018.
The data shows that last year suicide rate in the US was 14.9 deaths for every 100,000 people, which is 5 percent higher than the 2018 data.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics compiles data every year with input from all the states.
Suicide Deaths Reached All-Time High in Us in 2022
According to the CDC data, suicide became the 11th leading cause of death in 2021, and provisional data for 2022 shows the same.
Guns were involved in more than half of all suicides in 2022, according to the data.
Another report by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions said that gun-related suicides were the main factor behind the recent rise in suicide rates.
The rate of suicides involving guns rose 10% between 2019 and 2021.
Last year a 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was launched, but the vast majority of adults in the US is unaware of the service. The service helps people to reach licensed counselors trained to de-escalate a crisis, provide emotional support, or connect them with additional mental health resources.
According to a poll released by the National Alliance on Mental Illness last month, more than 80% of adults do not know about 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
