‘We Would Never Tolerate This In Other Areas Of Public Health’: Spiking Suicide Rates An Indictment Of Mental Health System
Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain's deaths came just days before the CDC released startling statistics about the rate of suicide in the country. Experts are left trying to figure out what has gone wrong.
The New York Times:
How Suicide Quietly Morphed Into A Public Health Crisis
The deaths of the designer Kate Spade and the chef Anthony Bourdain, both of whom committed suicide this week, were not simply pop culture tragedies. They were the latest markers of an intractable public health crisis that has been unfolding in slow motion for a generation. Treatment for chronic depression and anxiety — often the precursors to suicide — has never been more available and more widespread. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week reported a steady, stubborn rise in the national suicide rate, up 25 percent since 1999. (Carey, 6/8)
The New York Times:
Can One Suicide Lead To Others?
The death of famed chef Anthony Bourdain, who apparently killed himself in a hotel room in France, caps a week of unnerving news about suicide. Rates are climbing across the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday — in some states, by as much as 30 percent since 1999. Prevention remains an elusive goal. Just days earlier, Americans were stunned to learn the designer Kate Spade had hanged herself in her New York apartment. (Carey, 6/8)
The New York Times:
5 Takeaways On America’s Increasing Suicide Rate
In a week when two celebrities, first the designer Kate Spade and then the chef and television host Anthony Bourdain, took their own lives, new federal data was released showing that suicide rates have been increasing for years in almost every state and across demographic lines. The escalating crisis has affected nearly every group and place, but the study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that some parts of the country have been hit especially hard. Here’s a closer look at the study and the stories behind some of the data. (Smith, 6/9)
Reuters:
Rise In U.S. Suicides Highlights Need For New Depression Drugs
A spike in suicide rates in the United States has cast fresh light on the need for more effective treatments for major depression, with researchers saying it is a tricky development area that has largely been abandoned by big pharmaceutical companies. U.S. health authorities said on Thursday that there had been a sharp rise in suicide rates across the country since the beginning of the century and called for a comprehensive approach to addressing depression. The report was issued the same week as the high-profile suicides of celebrities Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade. (Steenhuysen, 6/9)
The Associated Press:
Celebrity Suicides Highlight Troubling Trend In Midlife
The deaths of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade highlight a troubling trend — rising suicides among middle-aged Americans. Mental health problems, often undiagnosed, are usually involved and experts say knowing warning signs and who is at risk can help stop a crisis from becoming a tragedy. (Tanner, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
After Celebrity Deaths, Suicide Hotline Calls Jump 25%
As the world learned the news Friday that renowned chef and food writer Anthony Bourdain had died by apparent suicide, the same phone number flooded the internet. The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline—1-800-273-8255—was pinned to the bottom of memorial Instagram posts, shared in tweets and ran alongside news obituaries. Whenever a notable person commits suicide, calls to the hotline spike, said Director John Draper. Just days before Mr. Bourdain’s death, news of another famous person had spread: handbag designer Kate Spade, whose apparent cause of death was also suicide. Calls jumped 25% in the two days after her death, compared with the same period the previous week, Mr. Draper said. (Korte, 6/10)
The Hill:
Bourdain, Spade Deaths Shine Spotlight On Growing Number Of Suicides
The suicide deaths of fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain this week have heightened public awareness of what experts describe as a growing, and often overlooked, public health issue in the U.S. The news Friday of Bourdain’s death prompted tributes from President Trump and former President Obama, and cries of grief and surprise on social media. (Hellmann, 6/9)
Chicago Sun Times:
For Women, The Stigma Of Depression, Anxiety Can Become Too Much To Bear
The stunning death by suicide of designer Kate Spade, followed just days later by the death of celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain, highlights the lingering stigma of anxiety, despair and depression, even among the seemingly most upbeat and successful among us. Chicago experts say the tragedy also points to women’s and middle-age people’s increasing rates of suicides. Suicide rates for U.S. adults ages 45-64 had the largest absolute rate increase (to 19.2 per 100,000 people in 2016 from 13.2 per 100,000 in 1999), and the greatest number of suicides (232,108) during the same period, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Thursday. (Guy, 6/8)
Minnesota Public Radio News:
Farmers Already At Higher Risk Of Suicide Face Pressure From Tariffs
Research shows that people in rural areas are much more likely to take their own lives. And a study of suicide in 17 states found people whose occupation involved farming, fishing or forestry were over five times more likely to take their own lives than people in all occupations combined. (Moini, 6/8)
