Complete Story
10/13/2014
US loses 40,000 lives each year due to suicide
US Loses 40,000 Lives Each Year Due To Suicide.
On its front page and as part of its “The Cost of Not Caring” series, USA Today (10/10, A1, Zoroya) reports in a 2,900-word article called “40,000 Suicides Annually, Yet America Simply Shrugs,” that the “nearly 40,000 American lives lost each year make suicide the nation’s 10th-leading cause of death, and the second-leading killer for those ages 15-34.” In recent years, “biological research [has] led scientists...to assert that suicidal behavior is a disorder that deserves to be included in the bible on mental health illnesses – the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder – so doctors could better diagnose, identify and move into treatment those who are suicidal,” and “American Psychiatric Association officials who periodically revise the manual want more study.” Maria Oquendo, MD, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University, said, “They (the authors) said it’s an idea that obviously needs to be considered but is not quite ready for inclusion.”
