More American Teens Attempting Suicide

A recent study has found that the number of American teenagers hospitalized for suicide ideation or suicide attempts nearly doubled between 2008 and 2015 with the highest increase seen in adolescent girls. The study focused on children ages 5-17 years, and followed 115,856 cases at emergency departments at 31 children’s hospitals. More than half of the cases occurred in teens ages 15-17, with children ages 12-14 accounting for 37%, and 12.8% of cases involving kids ages 5-11.

This was published in the journal Pediatrics and it noted that these kind of cases rise dramatically during the spring and fall seasons and after that there is a sudden reduction during the summer season.

Dr. Greg Plemmons, associate professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt who is the leader study author said that the study is one of only a few to report higher rates of hospitalization for suicide during the academic school year. He pointed out that the opposite is true for adults, with suicide rates highest during the summer months. He added: “If you look at adult populations, actually the summertime is the highest rate for adults. So I think school plays a unique role compared to depression and suicide in adults, and we’re certainly seeing more anxiety disorders, and more things that certainly rev up or seem triggered by school.”