CDC Report, The first changes in suicide rates among 10-24 year olds in more than 15 years.

Release of the study, "Suicide Trends Among Youths and Young Adults Aged 10-24 Years - United States, 1990-2004," was published on seventh September in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

I only know too well as I helped a mother who lost a child due to suicide about three years ago, a girl.

Study results show the largest increase in youth and young adult suicide rates in 15 years. The most noted change occurred in hanging/suffocation suicides among 10-14 year old girls.

From 1990 through 2003, the total suicide rate for 10 to 24 year olds declined by 28.5 percent (9.48 to 6.78 deaths per 100,000), however, between 2003 and 2004, the overall rate of suicide climbed among this age group by 8 percent (6.78 to 7.32 deaths per 100,000), the largest single-year rise in 15 years. It is important for parents, health care professionals, and educators to recognize the warning signs of suicide in youth such as talking about taking one’s life, feeling sad or hopeless about the future. Parents should also look for changes in eating or sleeping habits and even losing the desire to take part in favorite activities.

Between 1990 and 2003, the overall suicide rate for 10-24 year olds declined by 28 percent. Between 2003 and 2004, however, the rate climbed by 8 percent, the largest single-year climb in 15 years. The rate of hanging/suffocation suicides among 10-14 year old girls more than doubled between 2003 and 2004, increasing by 119 percent. In 2004, approximately 161,000 youth and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24 received medical care for self-inflicted injuries at Emergency Departments across the United States.

Tags: CDC, MMWR, teen suicide, teen suicide prevention, suffocation suicides, hanging, suicides