Suicide rates in U.S. and in Ohio on rise

Ohio’s suicide rate has trended upward since 2020, when the world entered the coronavirus pandemic. The same is true for the entire country.

Every day, approximately five people in Ohio die by suicide, according to Health Policy Ohio. In the U.S., recent statistics show a record number of people are dying by suicide every year, according to Axios. The Ohio government says 1 in 3 residents experience symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Since the height of the pandemic, when some folks saw anxiety and depression worsen, state officials have released a “Suicide Prevention Plan for Ohio” with steps that may be taken by teachers, business leaders and health professionals.

• HOW TO GET HELP: Community Resource Guide

Suggestions include tailoring stigma reduction campaigns to communities at higher risk of suicide and include members of those communities and their families in the design and implementation of campaigns and education materials. They also suggest standardizing the use of non-stigmatizing language.

There is encouragement to include 988 messaging with health promotion and stigma reduction campaigns, and to offer awareness programs among immigrants and refugee populations, including translation services.

Here is a look at the data around suicide in Ohio and in the U.S. (the latest data available is from 2022):

There were nearly 50,000 deaths by suicide in 2022, a 3% increase over the previous year
Females saw a larger increase than males (4% to 1%)
Men are four times more likely to die by suicide
There was a decrease in suicide rates among younger people, by 18% for ages 10-14 and 9% for ages 15-24
The suicide rate for those in age groups 35 and older rose significantly, with people ages 55-64 seeing the highest increase, which was 9%

The national strategy to help prevent suicide was updated in 2021, according to the U.S. government. It rolled out the 988 mental health hotline in 2022 to make it easier for people in crisis to have someone to talk to.