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16 June 2004 |
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Suicidal Deaths Decline
To Lowest Level in Nearly 60 Years.
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The number of suicidal deaths in 2003 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, declined to 133, the smallest number since 1944, according to the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office. The Office released preliminary data to MHS while preparing its 2003 Statistical Report. Suicidal deaths in the County declined 20% from the 167 deaths in 2002; and 26% from the 179 in 2001.
To fulfill our mission, MHS monitors community and national data on suicidal conduct. Our Mobile Crisis Team provides the county's only 24/7 crisis outreach services, and is an American Association of Suicidology (AAS)-approved crisis intervention program. Last year, there were 10,667 calls to the Mobile Crisis Team requesting services, and nearly one-third were because of depression or concerns about suicide. Members of our staff work with the Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board to implement the County's newly-adopted suicide prevention plan. MHS has also established collaborative service protocols with many of the community mental health centers, hospitals, and other providers of healthcare and supportive services that help those in suicidal crisis.
The graph presented below shows that suicidal deaths in Cuyahoga County have declined 52% since 1979, when there were 276. During the same time period, the population of Cuyahoga County declined by about 7%.
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What accounts for the decline in violent deaths? There are many theories, yet no generally accepted explanations. Moreover, the decline in suicidal deaths in the general population masks an alarming increase in suicide among adolescents. From 1980 to 1997, rates of suicidal deaths in the United States among those 15-19 years of age increased 11%. Among those 10-14 years old, they increased 99%. (See the AAS Youth Suicide Fact Sheet for more information.) Homelessness and schizophrenia are also associated with substantially increased suicidal risk. We invite you to explore some of the most significant factors associated with suicidal deaths in our web essay, Toward an Understanding of Suicidal Conduct. The economic costs and public policy challenges of suicide are addressed in last year's final report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Dr. Michael Hogan, Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health, was Chairman of that Commission.
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