Suicide among young people is on a startling trend upward, with the 2017 rate for 15- to 24-year-olds reaching its highest point since 2000, according to new research.
The rate was even more concerning among males and adolescents aged 15 to 19 years old, a research paper published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found. The study identified adolescents as a group “of particular concern, with increases in social media use, anxiety, depression and self-inflicted injuries.”
The research involved data on deaths in the United States among 15- to 24-year-olds between 2000 and 2017. The data came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Underlying Cause of Death database.
In 2017, there were 6,241 suicides reported in people aged 15 to 24. Of the total suicides, 5,016 were young men and 1,225 were young women.
Among those 15 to 19, the suicide rate was 8 per 100,000 people in 2000 but jumped to 11.8 per 100,000 in 2017, according to the study. Among people aged 20 to 24, the rate was 12.5 per 100,000 and then rose to 17 per 100,000 in 2017.
The research paper noted limitations of the study, including that the case of death in the death certificates could be wrong.
“For example, if a suicide using opioids was mistaken for an accidental overdose,” the paper read.
The increase also could be a result of more coroners and parents identifying deaths as suicide, the study reported.
The National Institute of Mental Health identifies multiple warning signs of suicide including talking about wanting to die or kill themselves; talking about feeling empty, hopeless or having no reason to live; planning or looking for a way to kill themselves and talking about feeling trapped or feeling that there are no solutions.
However, experts warn that signs can be vague, especially among teenagers who often go through up and down phases.
“One of the best things to do is make sure that kids are surrounded by adults who can monitor them, who know them, both online and offline, and who are thinking, ‘How do I know when this kid is doing well, and how do I recognize signs of distress?’” Jonathan Singer, president of the American Association of Suicidology, a nonprofit that advocates for suicide prevention, told NBC News.