Reports find suicides outpacing opioid-related deaths, may be accelerating

Suicide deaths increased by 37% between 2000 and 2018, with 41 states experiencing statistically significant increases over the same period, according to a pair of reports released this month by the State Health Access Data Assistance Center.

Over that 19-year period, the data shows suicide deaths killed over 700,000 people, more than the roughly 450,000 killed by opioids. The report comparing states’ trends said increases in suicide deaths ranged from 10-20% to more than 80%, but some states with higher increases are still below the national average.

The authors note that “the most concerning findings from our study is the indication that the increase in suicide rates over the past two decades may be accelerating.”

The study does not include projections from “deaths of despair” related to the COVID-19 pandemic.