Record suicide rates highest with jobless

She said the Framingham and Boston centers of Samaritans Inc. fielded 132,000 calls between July 2009 and June 2010, up from 119,000 calls over the same period the prior year. Davis said the “biggest age group of callers” was men and women from 45 to 54 years old.

“Sadly, we’re seeing definite increases in all age groups. But we believe we’re getting more calls from people in their 40s and 50s who’ve been most affected by the downturn in jobs, housing and medical coverage,” she said.

Davis’ observation echoes a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that men and women between 45 and 54 years old have the highest suicide rates in the country among nine different age groups.

Titled ” U.S.A. Suicide: 2007 Official Final Data,” the CDC report documents a steady increase in suicides for 45- to 54-year-old men and women over a 10-year-period. In 2007, the last year in which national data was available, 17.7 people out of 100,000 in that age group committed suicide.

Marie Cheetham, executive director of Addiction Referral Center in Marlborough, said a very close friend committed suicide in January after struggling with problems stemming from alcohol abuse and the economy.

She estimated “about 75 percent” of people seeking referrals for assistance at the center were unemployed. And she said “noticeably more” of the 600 people coming to the center for weekly support groups were in the “40 to 50-year-old” group.

Cheetham said, “We’re seeing lots of new faces and people who never needed our services before. They’re newly unemployed and have trouble coping with some new feelings.”

In recent months, Cheetham said more middle class and older people were coming to the center for job referrals, housing assistance and health care.

“When I first started, there were a lot of homeless people,” she said.”This time is different. This is mainstream America.”

CDC researchers found “3 female attempts (at suicide) for each male attempt,” but males made more successful suicide attempts. And white males comprise more than 20 percent of all successful suicides nationally.

Davis isn’t surprised.

“For many years our calls from that age group have been going up,” she said. “There isn’t one cause. It’s a combination of factors involving job loss, increased financial burdens, loss of health care, the cost of looking after aging parents. The economy is just another thing to put them over.”

Despite bleak news on a national level, suicide rates in Massachusetts are among the country’s lowest.

A 2007 report by the American Association of Suicidology listed the Bay State as having the fourth lowest number of suicides per 100,000 residents among 50 states and the District of Columbia. In 2007, 516 people committed suicide in Massachusetts, representing 8 people per 100,000, well below the national average.

Dr. Alexander Crosby, medical epidemiologist in the CDC’s Center for Injury Prevention and Control, cautioned 2007 data can’t illuminate suicide patterns three years later.

While acknowledging “unemployment can contribute to suicide,” he stressed, “Suicide is a complex behavior.”

“Studies indicate there is an interaction of several risk factors. No person dies from a single thing,” he said.

Since suicide data is rarely up-to-date, Crosby said predicting trends can promote misunderstanding.

But while suicides increased slightly in 2006 and 2007 across the United States, researchers noted suicide rates for people in their 40s and 50s have been steadily growing over the last decade.

Specialists from area hospitals and organizations involved with suicide prevention programs say older people seem to be seeking help in growing numbers. Most identify the current economic crisis as one of several major factors responsible for the apparent increase.

Sarah Trondone, director of outpatient and emergency services for Advocates Inc., cited a “considerable spike” in “threatened and attempted” suicides for older people.

“More than in previous years, it seems to be tied largely to lost jobs, housing problems and loss of status,” she said.

While exact data on clients’ economic status wasn’t available, Trondone said she’d seen “lots of people who had once been financially secure” now living in subsidized hotels or shelters and feeling increasingly desperate as their benefits ran out.

“When people lose their jobs, they feel they’ve lost their status in society and their roles as breadwinners. Hopelessness often sets in,” she said.

While the highest rate of civilian suicides seems clustered around middle age, U.S. military veterans, particularly those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, have been committing suicide in growing numbers.

“The military suicide rate doubled between 2001 and 2006 while it remained relatively flat among civilians,” said Coleman Nee, undersecretary for the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services. He said 160 active duty serviceman committed suicide in 2009 compared to 140 in 2008.

Citing military data, Nee said 21 active duty servicemen “potentially” committed suicide in June 2010 compared to 10 in May. In June, 11 military reservists committed suicide. He said the designation “potentially” describes a likely suicide who might have died from an undetected accident or natural causes.

Nee said several new Bay State programs are reaching out to veterans, especially those returning from combat, informing them of available resources and providing immediate help whenever needed.

Responding to growing suicide rates, Nee said the state Department of Public Health and Department of Veterans Services joined forces three years ago to establish a program, Statewide Advocacy for Veterans Empowerment (SAVE), which trained veterans to reach out to other veterans to prevent suicide and help them find treatment for mental health and other problems.

He attributed the growing number of military suicides to several factors including the shock of combat injuries and deaths, disabilities and brain injuries, multiple deployments, sexual discrimination against female soldiers, separation from families and economic uncertainties on returning home.

Nee said SAVE team members work at the grass-roots level to meet a broad spectrum of veterans and inform them of available resources before any problems reach a crisis level. “They really work with veterans as early as possible to take the stigma off seeking help,” he said.

Nee said a Department of Defense program, Operation Total Warrior, was started to link Mass. National Guard, Air National Guard and reservists and their families with support agencies.

Licensed social worker Heidi Donnellan said she was aware of a marginal increase in depression and suicide attempts treated a year ago at Marlborough Hospital but she felt those problems had “reached a plateau.”

She said job loss could trigger depression especially in men who might feel that they couldn’t fulfill traditional roles. But she described drug and alcohol abuse as “huge contributors” to suicidal impulses.

While the hospital serves blue collar and prosperous communities, Donnellan said marital problems, substance abuse and “desperation, despair and hopelessness” were more recognizable risk factors for suicide than job loss and unemployment.

She said women seek help for suicidal thoughts more often than men and added that “acknowledging the problem” was a crucial step to getting help.

“Hope is a resource,” said Donnellan. “It’s important people having these problems know help is available.”

At the Suicide Prevention Resource Center in Newton, Prevention Specialist Elana Premack Sandler said access to firearms and certain medications were “huge factors” in impulsive suicides.

She said the “most important way” to reduce suicides is to reduce the hopelessness of people at risk by making them aware suicide is preventable and resources are available to help them.

HOT LINE NUMBERS

• Samaritans Statewide Toll Free Number 877-870-4673
• Samariteens 800-252-8336
• Samaritans Boston 24-hour Adult Help Line 617-247-0220
• VA Suicide Prevention Hot Line 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
• The SAVE TEAM 888-844-2838
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
• Addiction Referral Center 508-485-4357