The number of U.S. suicides dropped nearly 6% last year amid coronavirus pandemic – according to preliminary government data, the largest annual decline in at least four decades.
Death certificates are still coming in and the score could go up. But officials expect a significant decline to continue, despite concerns that COVID-19 could lead to more suicides.
It is difficult to say exactly why suicide deaths have dropped so much, but one factor may be a phenomenon seen in the early stages of wars and national disasters, experts have suggested.
“There is a heroic phase in every disaster period, where we work together and express many messages of support that we are together in this,” said Dr. Christine Moutier, medical director of the American Suicide Prevention Foundation, said. “You saw it, at least in the early months of the pandemic.”
An increase in the availability of telecommunications health services and other efforts to reverse the country’s suicide problem may also have contributed, she said.
U.S. suicides rose steadily from the early 2000s to 2018, when the national suicide rate reached its highest level since 1941. The rate finally dropped slightly in 2019. Experts attributed increased mental health examinations and other suicide attempts.
The center fell further to below 45,000 last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent report. This was the lowest number of deaths in the United States since 2015.
Many were concerned that such progress might possibly end with the arrival of COVID-19.
The pandemic unleashed a spate of business closures. Millions of people were forced to stay at home, many of them alone. In surveys, more Americans reported depression, anxiety, and drug and alcohol use. If the dangerous mixture is added, firearm purchases increased by 85% in March 2020.
But in the spring of last year, the most dramatic decline in the suicide rates of the year took place, said Farida Ahmad of the CDC.
Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death in the country, but dropped to the 11th fall in 2020. This was mainly due to the arrival of COVID-19, which killed at least 345,000 Americans and became the country’s No. 3 killer. But the decline in suicide deaths has also contributed to the drop in rankings.
The CDC has not yet reported national suicide rates for 2020, nor has it provided a breakdown of suicides by state, age or race and ethnicity.
Moutier is eager to see more data. Although overall suicides declined last year, it is possible that suicides by young people and young adults did not, she said.
She is optimistic that the recent declines will be the beginning of a lasting trend. But she is also concerned that the mental health of many people may have a delayed effect as they get past the initial threats of the pandemic, but grieve the people and things they lost.
“There is an evolution of mental health,” she said. “It is possible that we will later see the full mental health consequences of this pandemic.”
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, there is help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, send an SMS to a crisis counselor at 741741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.