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Suicide rates increased in 2021

By Alice Park

Senior Health Correspondent

The latest report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that U.S. suicide rates went back up in 2021 after a two-year decline. More concerning, however, according to the researchers who analyzed the data, was the fact that rates among young children continued to climb, even as the overall rates declined during the early part of the pandemic. Here’s what the data showed:

Suicide rates had been increasing steadily for men and women across age groups from 2001 to 2018, then dropped from 2019-2020.
While young girls ages 10 to 14 had the lowest rates of suicide, they experienced the largest percentage increase in suicides from 2001 to 2021.
The rebound of suicide rates after a two-year decline could be related to the return to work and school, and resuming old stressors that drove suicide, say the scientists.

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A troubling response to a new sesame allergy law

A new law aiming to protect people with a sesame allergy from accidental cross-contamination has backfired, Karen Weese writes in the Washington Post.

To avoid the new mandate to clean equipment after manufacturing foods that contain sesame, some companies are choosing to add trace amounts into nearly all of their products, endangering and disappointing people who are allergic to it.

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Today's newsletter was written by Alice Park and Haley Weiss, and edited by Angela Haupt.

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