Suicide rates are rising, especially in rural America [View all]

[Ohiogal]

Trump country???

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Suicide rates are on the rise, especially in rural America, according to a study published Friday.

From 1999 to 2016, the rate of suicide among Americans ages 25 to 64 rose by 41 percent, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open. Rates among people living in rural counties were 25 percent higher than those in major metropolitan areas.

A number of factors appear to be driving suicide rates up in rural America, including poverty, low income and underemployment, said lead study author Danielle Steelesmith, a postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.

“Those factors are really bad in rural areas,” said Steelesmith.

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Suicide “is a growing American tragedy,” said Dr. Albert Wu, an internist and a professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “It has become a leading cause of death in the U.S., and is a major public health problem.”

In rural areas, “many of the most pernicious health and social problems intersect,” Wu said.

Lack of access to health care in rural areas further compounds the problem. “Insurance can be a proxy for people’s access to mental health care,” Steelesmith said.

Wu agreed. “Lack of health insurance kills people,” he said. “More insurance, including the expansion of Medicaid, could help.”

More:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/suicide-rates-are-rising-especially-rural-america-n1050806