Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Suicidal Thoughts, Attempts On The Rise Among Young People: 'It's A Critical Public-Health Crisis Right Now'
The Wall Street Journal: Youth Suicidal Behavior Is On The Rise, Especially Among Girls
A new study finding a rise in suicidal thoughts and attempts among young people adds to the research pointing to a decline in mental health among U.S. children and adolescents. The study showed the proportion of young people treated at 31 U.S. children’s hospitals for suicidal thoughts or attempts more than doubled between 2008 and 2015, from 0.66% of all visits to 1.82% of all visits. Rates were higher during the school year than in the summer, and nearly two-thirds of the visits involved girls, according to results published in the medical journal Pediatrics. (Whalen, 5/15)
NPR: Kids Struggle With Thoughts Of Suicide
Lead author Gregory Plemmons, a pediatrician and researcher at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., says the study results confirmed what he'd been seeing at the hospital. He says he hopes clinicians and families take note. "The number one thing to take home is that it's important to talk about this and important to ask about it," he says. The findings line up with past data showing a steady increase in teen suicide over the past decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that a drop in adolescent suicide in the 1990s and early 2000s reversed course in 2008, though it's not yet reached peak levels seen in the 1980s. It's not clear what has contributed to the increase, but the study noted the 2008 financial crisis may be one factor among others. (Haelle, 5/16)
The New York Times: Kids’ Suicide-Related Hospital Visits Rise Sharply
About five years ago, pediatricians at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville found that more and more of their inpatient beds at the children’s hospital were occupied by children and adolescents with mental health issues, especially those who had come in because of suicide attempts, or suicidal thoughts. These patients were known as “boarders”: They were waiting for psychiatric placement because it wasn’t safe for them to go home. (Klass, 5/16)
