Suicide Rates Among 5–29-Year-Old African Americans, 1990–2018

Abstract

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death across all ages in the USA, and the 2nd leading cause for ages 10–34. The rate of suicide for ages 10–34 has been increasing from 1999 to 2017 for males and females, although this time-trend varied across subpopulations defined by gender and age. This study analyzed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data from 1990 to 2018 on suicide among African Americans aged 5–29 years. Suicide incidence in this population was greater in older groups and in males than females. For 9 of the 10 gender/age subpopulations, the time-trend of suicide over the three decades was U-shaped—decreasing during the first decade and increasing over the last decade of the study period. The exception was the increasing trend from 1990 to 2018 for Black females in the 10–14 age-group. These results reinforce the need for analyses of the data from specific subpopulations in order to design adequate suicide prevention programs for these African American subpopulations.