Long-term U.S. suicide trends changed heading into the pandemic, as rates fell steadily among Whites for the first time and rose among Blacks and Hispanics, according to federal data released Wednesday.
Suicide rates for non-Hispanic Whites fell 7%, from 18.1 for every 100,000 people in 2018 to 16.9 for every 100,000 in 2020, after having steadily increased since 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Between 2007 and 2020, suicide rates for non-Hispanic Blacks increased by 53%, from 5.6 for every 100,000 people to 7.8 for every 100,000 following years of steady decline, according to a data brief from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.