Suicides Are #1 Cause of Injury Deaths in US

Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC; Georgia, USA) report that suicide has overtaken traffic accidents as the leading cause of injury deaths in the United States. Ian RH Rockett and colleagues analyzed data on cause of death from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics for patterns and trends in fatal injury from 2000 through 2009. They found that the suicide rate rose 15% over the past decade, while unintentional motor vehicle crashes fell 25%.  Deaths from poisoning and falls also rose substantially from 2000 through 2009. Overall, combined unintentional and intentional injury mortality rose 10% over this period from 53 to 56 per 100,000 population after adjustment for trends in age.  The study authors write that: “Mortality rates for suicide, poisoning, and falls rose substantially over the past decade. Suicide has surpassed motor vehicle traffic crashes as the leading cause of injury mortality”; and they comment that eliminating fatal injuries might raise the national life expectancy by 1 to 2 years, thereby extending  mean length of life of those whose deaths were averted by a projected 3 decades.