Tennessee’s suicide rate hit record high in 2016

NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s suicide rate hit a record high in 2016, according to a news release from the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network.

In any given day, three people in Tennessee die by suicide, according to the release.

While the suicide rate went up only slightly, the new figures are the highest recorded in Tennessee in over 35 years of record keeping, and the rate remains above the national average, according to the release.

The number of suicides increased in young people ages 10-18 in Tennessee, with one person in this age group lost to suicide every week, according to the release.

One person between the ages of 10-24 dies by suicide every four days, and at least one person over the age of 45 dies every day by suicide, with adults in midlife and older adults remaining at higher risk, the release states.

The crude suicide rate went up from 15.6 to 16.2 per 100,000, representing a 4 percent increase.

Firearms remain the most common means of suicide death in Tennessee, accounting for 677, or 61 percent, of the recorded suicide deaths in 2016, the release states.

For more information, visit the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network website.