After 2-year decline, suicide rates rise again

The number of people dying by suicide rose from 2020 to 2021 following several years of decline, according to a report released Friday.

The number of people who died by suicide rose from 2020 to 2021 following a brief period of decline, according to provisional data released Friday from the National Center for Health Statistics.

It's a sign, experts say, that suicide rates are inching back up to levels seen before the pandemic.

In 2021, 47,646 people in the United States died by suicide, up from 45,979 in 2020. That's an increase of nearly 4%.

There had been hope among experts that suicide rates had perhaps peaked in 2018, after steadily rising for nearly two decades. Numbers fell slightly in both 2019 and 2020.

The reasons for those declines are unclear, said Julie Cerel, director of the Suicide Prevention and Exposure Lab at the University of Kentucky.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/2-year-decline-suicide-rates-rise-rcna49766

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