Suicide rates rise among preteens, with highest increases seen among Hispanic youth, girls

Key takeaways:

• Following a decrease, suicide rates among U.S. preteens increased annually by 8.2% from 2008 to 2022.
• Hispanic preteens had the highest percentage increase in suicide rates among racial and ethnic subgroups.

Suicide rates among U.S. preteens increased significantly from 2008 to 2022, with the greatest increases being among Hispanic preteens and girls, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.

The lack of information about the epidemiology of preteen suicide may limit prevention efforts, according to Donna A. Ruch, PhD, senior research scientist at the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and faculty member in the department of pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, and colleagues. Their goal with this cross-sectional retrospective study was to investigate trends and characteristics of suicide rates among U.S. preteens aged 8 to 12 years using 2001 to 2022 national mortality data from the Web-based Statistics Query and Reporting System.

The researchers analyzed the cases by sex, race and ethnicity, suicide method and location, and they compared trends over time using incidence rate ratios (IRRs) derived from negative binomial regression models.

Overall, results showed that 2,241 preteens died by suicide from 2001 to 2022. Of this group, 31.9% were female and 68.1% were male. Further, 7.2% were Native American or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander; 24.5% were Black; 18.8% were Hispanic; and 68.3% were white.

From 2001 to 2007, the researchers observed a decrease in suicide rates among this age group, based on an annual percent change of –4.3% (95% CI, –28.88 to 4.65). However, from 2008 to 2022, rates significantly increased by 8.19% (95% CI, 6.25-16.68) annually.

These data corresponded to a significant increase in overall suicide rates between those two periods, from 3.34 to 5.71 per every 1 million persons (IRR = 1.71; 95% CI, 1.54-1.89).

Ruch and colleagues noted that the rates of suicide increased significantly across all subgroups. They observed the greatest rate increases among girls (IRR = 3.32; 95% CI, 2.66-4.15); Native American or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander preteens (IRR = 1.99; 95% CI, 1.28-3.09); and Hispanic preteens (IRR = 2.06; 95% CI, 1.61-2.65).

Although Hispanic preteens had the highest rate increase between those periods, the researchers noted the rate of suicide remained highest among Black preteens from both 2001 to 2007 (4.94 per 1 million persons) and 2008 to 2022 (8.5 per 1 million persons).

In terms of method, the largest increase in preteen suicides was by firearm (IRR = 2.29; 95% CI, 1.82-2.87), although most suicides were conducted by hanging or suffocation.

The researchers noted several limitations to this study, including the potential misclassification of suicides as other causes of death.

“These findings highlight a need to better understand suicide risk among racial and ethnic subgroups, including multiracial individuals who comprise the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S.,” Ruch and colleagues wrote.

The results provide further evidence that the historically large gap in youth suicide rates between sexes is narrowing, according to the researchers. While suicide ranked consistently as the fifth-leading cause of death among male preteens, suicide rose from the 11th to the fifth-leading cause of death among female preteens during the time periods studied.

Ruch and colleagues wrote that these data support the need for “culturally informed and developmentally appropriate prevention efforts that emphasize robust risk screening and lethal means restriction.” Future research should explore the unique factors associated with preteen suicide, they added.