QuickStats: Suicide Rates*,† for Teens Aged 15–19 Years, by Sex — United States, 1975–2015

Weekly / August 4, 2017 / 66(30);816

The figure above is a bar chart showing the suicide rate for males aged 15–19 years increased from 12.0 to 18.1 per 100,000 population from 1975 to 1990, declined to 10.8 by 2007, and then increased 31% to 14.2 by 2015. The rate in 2015 for males was still lower than the peak rates in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. Rates for females aged 15–19 were lower than for males aged 15–19 but followed a similar pattern during 1975–2007 (increasing from 2.9 to 3.7 from 1975 to 1990, followed by a decline from 1990 to 2007). The rates for females then doubled from 2007 to 2015 (from 2.4 to 5.1). The rate in 2015 was the highest for females for the 1975–2015 period.

* Rates are per 100,000 population.

† Suicides are identified with International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 8th Revision codes E950–E959 for 1975–1978; ICD 9th revision codes E950–E959 for 1979–1998; and ICD 10th revision codes U03, X60–X84 and Y87.0 for 1999–2015. In 1975, in the United States, there were 1,289 suicides among males and 305 suicides among females aged 15–19 years. In 2015, there were 1,537 suicides among males and 524 among females aged 15–19 years.

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The suicide rate for males aged 15–19 years increased from 12.0 to 18.1 per 100,000 population from 1975 to 1990, declined to 10.8 by 2007, and then increased 31% to 14.2 by 2015. The rate in 2015 for males was still lower than the peak rates in the mid- 1980s to mid-1990s. Rates for females aged 15–19 were lower than for males aged 15–19 but followed a similar pattern during 1975–2007 (increasing from 2.9 to 3.7 from 1975 to 1990, followed by a decline from 1990 to 2007). The rates for females then doubled from 2007 to 2015 (from 2.4 to 5.1). The rate in 2015 was the highest for females for the 1975–2015 period.

Source: CDC. National Vital Statistics System, mortality data. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/deaths.htm.

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Reported by: Sally C. Curtin, MA, sac2@cdc.gov, 301-458-4142; Holly Hedegaard, MD; Arialdi Minino, MPH; Margaret Warner, PhD; Thomas Simon, PhD.

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Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Suicide Rates for Teens Aged 15–19 Years, by Sex — United States, 1975–2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2017;66:816. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6630a6 .