AMA releases new data showing higher suicide rate in African Americans
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Past research has almost always shown that twice as many white persons will attempt suicide than African American. New findings show that this is no longer the case. The study showed that “The first nationally representative study to look at attempted suicide among blacks found that about 70,000 of them try to kill themselves each year and 4 percent, or roughly 1.4 million, attempt suicide at least once in their lives. That lifetime rate is similar to that of whites but higher than the 2.8 percent found among blacks in previous surveys.”
The study went on to note a very big difference between white and African American suicide issues. “While depression is strongly tied to suicidal behavior in whites, anxiety disorders were more common than depression in blacks who attempted suicide in the study. That is an important racial difference that could alert doctors to black patients who might be contemplating suicide.”
Regardless of the trigger, education and awareness remain very important factors to prevention. If you know someone who may be contemplating suicide, or who you are worried about in this way, do not try to take matters into your own hands. Get professional help and advice.
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