Health

Youth ED Visits for Suicidality Doubled from 2007 to 2015

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH

Youth emergency department visits for suicide attempts or ideation nearly doubled over a 9-year period, according to findings reported in JAMA Pediatrics.

Examining a database of nationally representative EDs, U.S. researchers identified over 1600 visits for suicide attempts or ideation among youth aged 5–17 between 2007 and 2015. This translated to an estimated 7.3 million ED visits across the U.S.

The estimated annual number of ED visits for suicidality increased from 580,000 in 2007 to 1.12 million in 2015— even though the overall number of ED visits remained largely unchanged.

Of note, the median age of the patients was 13 years. Over 40% of visits were for children aged 5–10.


https://www.jwatch.org/fw115273/2019/04/09/youth-ed-visits-suicidality-doubled-2007-2015