11
Feb
OPB: US Firearm Suicide Rate Reaches Record High
The national age-adjusted suicide rate ticked up slightly in 2018, from 14 per 100,000 people in 2017 to 14.2. The firearm suicide rate began a consistent upward trend starting in 2006. The nation’s overall suicide rate has been increasing for almost two decades and experts aren’t sure why. “Something that we’d really like to look at more is social inequities and lack of hope in terms of upward mobility and how is this associated with the loss of interest in life,” said Dr. Kathleen Carlson, a professor of epidemiology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and leader of the Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue initiative.