US Suicide Rates and Impact of Major Disasters Over the Last Century

The potential impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on US suicide rates has concerned clinicians and public health officials since the start of the pandemic. Against a background of rising US suicide rates over the last 2 decades, COVID-19 has caused substantially higher levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, all risk factors for suicide. From the second quarter of 2019 to June 2020, the prevalence of anxiety symptoms tripled in the United States (from 8.1% to 25.5%), and the prevalence of depressive symptoms nearly quadrupled (from 6.5% to 24.3%).2 Compared to 2018 (referring to the preceding 12 months), suicidal ideation in the past 30 days more than doubled in 2020 (from 4.3% to 10.7%), with particularly steep increases among young people, Black Americans, and Hispanic Americans.