Senior adults suffer greatest increase as U.S. suicides near 50,000

 By Diana Chandler - Posted at Baptist Press:

ATLANTA (BP) — Senior adults suffered the largest increase in suicides as nearly 50,000 Americans killed themselves in 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its latest report.

The 8 percent rise in suicides among adults 65 and older was the highest driver in suicide deaths, the CDC said, with 10,433 deaths in that age group alone. That’s compared to 9,652 adults over 65 who killed themselves the previous year.

Suicide declined 8.4 percent among the youngest Americans the CDC tracks – ages 10-24 – falling from 7,126 to 6,529. The number counters recent reports of an increase in mental health struggles among young adults, and a concurrent call for ministry to address mental health concerns among millennials and Gen Z.

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See also:

• Suicide deaths reached record high in 2022: CDC | U.S. News (christianpost.com)
• Depression and Older Adults | National Institute on Aging (nih.gov)