Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Boys Are Still More Likely To Take Their Own Lives, But Girls Are Steadily Narrowing That Gap
NPR: Among Girls In The U.S., Suicide Rates Are Increasing And Catching Up To Boys
The number of people dying by suicide in the U.S. has been rising, and a new study shows that the suicide rate among girls ages 10 to 14 has been increasing faster than it has for boys of the same age. Boys are still more likely to take their own lives. But the study published Friday in JAMA Network Open finds that girls are steadily narrowing that gap.Researchers examined more than 85,000 youth suicides that occurred between 1975 and 2016. Donna Ruch, a researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who worked on the study, tells NPR that a major shift occurred after 2007. (Ingber and Chatterjee, 5/17)
Bloomberg: Surging Suicide Rate Among Young Girls Raises Questions About Role Of Social Media
A troubling spike in the suicide rate among young girls is prompting leading researchers to ask questions about the role of social media in adolescent mental health. A study published Friday in the JAMA Open Network led by Donna Ruch, a research scientist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, analyzed suicide trends in 10- to 19-year-olds between 1975 and 2016. The rate of suicide decreased from the early 1990s until 2007, but has increased in years since for both genders. (Koons, 5/17)
