While risk factors linked to suicide, including substance use problems, mental health conditions and financial stress all increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall number of suicides in the U.S. fell 3 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to a Nov. 3 report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
The report is based on provisional data from 99 percent of all 2020 death records received and processed by the National Center for Health Statistics as of May 19, 2021.
From 1999-2018, suicides in the U.S. increased 35 percent until they declined by 2 percent in 2019.
In 2019, the provisional sucide count was 47,511 — 3 percent higher than the provisional count of 45,855 in 2020. In April 2020, suicides were 14 percent lower than 2019, the steepest decline by month.
While suicides dropped overall, there were increases among American Indians and Alaska Natives, Black Americans and Hispanic Americans, as well as among adults aged 25 to 34, according to the report.
To view the full report, click here.