Teenage American girls' suicide rates soar by 76 percent

The latest figures on teenage suicide in the United States presents a worrying picture especially for young women.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the last decade the suicide rate among preteen and young teenage American girls rose 76 percent, the highest says the CDC in a decade.

Dr. Ileana Arias, director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, says there is a dramatic increase in pre-teen and teen suicides.

It seems the suicide rate for children and young adults aged between 10 to 24 years rose 8 percent from 2003 to 2004, which is the largest annual increase in more than 15 years.

The CDC report which is based on the latest numbers available, shows a complete turnaround as suicide rates had fallen by 28.5 percent since 1990 among young people.

In 2004 the CDC says there were 94 suicides in the age group for 10- to 14-year-old girls, compared to 56 in 2003 an increase of around 76 percent.

Among older teenage girls between 15-19 the suicide rates rose up 32 percent while the rates for males in the same age age group rose by 9 percent.

The data showed that in 2004 suicide was the third leading cause of death among young Americans and accounted for 4,599 deaths.

The method of suicide also underwent a change and death by hanging and suffocation became the most common suicide method in 2004 compared to the use of gun in the 90s.

Seventy one percent of all suicides in girls aged 10-14 used a hanging method along with fifty percent of those aged 15-19; and 34 percent between 20-24.

According to Dr. Keri Lubell, a CDC behavioral scientist who was one of the study authors, the data shows an unusually high number of hangings in 2004 and experts suggest this is because hanging and suffocation implements are easily accessible.

The CDC says health officials need to target suicide prevention programs on girls ages 10-19 and boys between 15-19, and not consider restricting access to pills, weapons or other lethal means but also other methods.

Experts suspect that the rise in depression during adolescent years could be one possible reason for the rise in suicide rates among teens.

They also say a decline in the use of antidepressants in those age groups might be a factor, due to concerns that the drugs may increase suicide risk for a subset of young people.

Experts say it is too soon to know whether 2004 was just an unusual year, or whether it marks the beginning of an upward trend.

The new teen suicide statistics appear in the Sept. 7 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.