Suicide: Leading Cause of Death for Oregonians 15 to 54 Years Old

Friday, December 12, 2014

Taya Alami, GoLocalPDX Reporter

Suicide was the leading cause of death for Oregonians aged 15 through 54 in 2012, according to a report issued last month by the Center for Disease Control.

The total number of suicides in the state increased to 716 deaths in 2012, up from 656 the year before.

The Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator for the state, Donna Noonin, said suicides are on the rise.

“And it’s not just Oregon. It’s the whole country,” Noonin said.

More often than not, Oregon’s suicide rate for a given year is higher than the national average. Oregon’s rate was four percentage points higher than the national average in 2012.

Noonin said there may be a number of factors contribution to the disparity, including varying degrees of access to mental health care and high rates of gun ownership, among others.

“Large sections of the state are rural, and access to (mental health) services are limited in rural areas,” Doonin said. “That’s true across the country.”

Suicide deaths among veterans were significantly higher than any other demographic. Veterans made up a little less than 9 percent of Oregon’s population, but they comprised approximately 23 percent of suicide deaths in the state.

This may be because Oregon doesn’t have a military base, where services for veterans can be concentrated, according to Doonin.

“The vets are spread out throughout the state. Once they come back from Iraq or Afghanistan, they’re kind of on their own,” Doonin said. “They can be isolated (from) others in that respect.”

Of Oregonians aged 25 to 54 years old, there were 466 suicide deaths in 2012, the CDC report stated. The second leading cause of death for the age group was poisoning, with 308 deaths. Traffic accidents were third, with 208.

In the City of Portland, suicides committed by people aged 25 through 44 accounted for slightly less than one-third of the suicides from 2011 to 2013, according the Portland Police Bureau.

“The highest rates of suicide are among white males, and the rates go up with age,” Noonin said.

Although many people believe the weather can contribute to some cases of depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) doesn’t appear to have played a role in the frequency of suicides in Oregon: rates were slightly higher during the summer months than they were during the winter.

On the national level, non-fatal injuries due to self-harm cost an estimated $2 billion annually for medical care. Another $4.3 billion is spent for indirect costs, such as lost wages and productivity, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

If you think that you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide or self-harm, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).