State cites strides in reducing teen suicide
Published: Sunday, Mar. 13, 2007
Union Leader
By TOM FAHEY
State House Bureau Chief
CONCORD - New Hampshire has made great strides in reducing suicide among teens, but needs to keep working, Health and Human Services Commission John Stephen said yesterday.
New Hampshire's rate of suicides among all age groups is below the national average, according to figures HHS cited from national Centers for Disease Control. Rates between 2001 and 2004 increased nationally, while falling in New Hampshire.
Stephen wants to continue improvements. "Our goal is simple: No suicides in New Hampshire, period. We see every suicide as a preventable death," he said.
In 2006, New Hampshire saw no suicides at all among those 18 and under, Stephen said. That capped a five-year trend downward in the suicides among those under age 25.
Elaine Frank, co-chair of the State Suicide Prevention Council, said 130 people die by suicide in New Hampshire each year. For every suicide death, there are 25 unsuccessful attempts, she said.
"The good news is that we are increasingly recognizing that suicide is preventable," Frank said.
CDC figures show that national suicide rates among young people increased slightly from 6.9 per 100,000 in 2001 to 7.2 in 2004. In New Hampshire, the rate shifted from 11.5 to 6.6 per 100,000 during those years.
State chief medical examiner Dr. Thomas Andrew, said trends can reverse quickly.
"We cannot take our eye off the ball for even a moment," he said.
HHS statistics show that suicides rates begin to climb steadily among the elderly men, based on figures from 2001 through 2003. Among those aged 65-69, the rate is 16.6 per 100,000. It increases to 17.7 among those aged 70-74; 28.2 in ages 75-79, 38.6 among those aged 80-84, and 51.4 per 100,000 among those 85 and older.
Ken Norton of the Frameworks group listed common suicide symptoms: mood changes, anger or irritability; talking or joking about suicide; increasing isolation, and substance abuse.
Those suffering symptoms or wanting to get help for someone they are worried about can call the Headrest group in Lebanon, at 1-800-273-TALK, or 911.
Concord Hospital president Michael Hill knows the damage a suicide can inflict on family members. His son Jim killed himself while he was a 27-year-old law student.
Hill said he remembers college officials telling parents in the fall that students had to watch alcohol and drug abuse, violence, sexually transmitted diseases and other things that could ruin their lives.
"They never mentioned depression, they never mentioned suicide," he said. Yet every 18 minutes, someone dies by suicide somewhere in the U.S. He praised the state for its progress on prevention, but said more needs to be done.
"If this hasn't happened someone in your family or someone you know, unfortunately, it probably will," Hill said.
