More than 45,000 people in the U.S. killed themselves in 2016, with the rate increasing in almost every state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
Suicide rates have risen 30 percent in roughly two decades, and it has become the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. More than half of people who die by suicide did not have a diagnosis for a mental health disorder. Life troubles, such as losing a job, abusing drugs or alcohol, or having physical health problems, contributed to the risk of suicide.
Suicide was highest among white men in middle age. Rates of suicide increased in every state except Nevada, whose rate fell by 1 percent. Rates were highest in Montana.
The latest figures put suicide at roughly the same levels of deaths from opioids, which often coincide with suicides and involve drugs such as prescription painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl. At least 8,554 people who died from suicide tested positive for an opioid, and 10,950 tested positive for alcohol.
The CDC encouraged the public to become more aware of the risk factors for suicide. It recommended that homes “reduce access to lethal means,” including to firearms, for people who are at risk. Guns remain the leading means of suicide in the U.S.
It also had recommendations for the media, including that reporters avoid reporting on how people killed themselves and that they share stories of people who have had suicidal thoughts. Reporters have been criticized for the coverage of the suicide of fashion designer Kate Spade.
