Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
A federal report released on June 7 found that Ohio’s suicide rate rose by 36% from 1999 to 2016 (Source: “Ohio, U.S. Suicide Rates Jump since Turn of Century,” The Columbus Dispatch, June 7, 2018).
The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the United States suicide rate increased by 25.4% in that span. The nation had a rate of 15.4 suicides per 100,000 people in 2014-16, compared to 12.3 from 1999-2001.
Ohio’s increase was the 19th highest among the states. Its rate of 15.8 deaths per 100,000 people was the 32nd highest. The numbers, which included people 10 years and older, came as no surprise to state mental health officials.
“We’re not shocked by them, but we are a bit disheartened by them,” said Mark Hurst, MD, medical director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. He said Ohio’s number of suicides had stabilized from 2011-14 before rising in 2015 and again in 2016, to 1,706.