Citation

Mooney LJ. Am. J. Psychiatry 2022; 179(4): 262-263.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

10.1176/appi.ajp.20220173

PMID

35360917

Abstract

The United States has seen an unprecedented rise in drug overdose deaths and suicides in the past two decades that has garnered increased public health attention since the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused social and economic disruption and had considerable impacts on nationwide mental health. Despite a recent decline in overall rates since 2019, suicide has remained a leading cause of death, with numbers continuing to rise in certain populations (1). The suicide crisis has intersected with an epidemic of drug overdose deaths, which surpassed an annual rate of 100,000 for the first time in the 12 months ending in April 2021; overdose deaths increased by almost 29% from the previous year, and over 75% of overdoses were associated with opioids, primarily potent synthetics, including fentanyl (2).

Although the etiology of suicide is multifactorial, the link between substance use disorders and suicide risk has been well documented (3, 4). Opioid use disorder confers particular risk even after controlling for co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses; categorization of opioid overdose deaths as unintentional versus attributable to suicide is marked by challenges, as intent is not always known or documented at the time of death (5). The Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General issued a call to action in 2021 to implement the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, which urges a broad public health response that includes risk identification, evidence-based treatment access, and prevention efforts targeting suicide...

Language: en

Keywords

Suicide and Self-Harm; Administration and Management