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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did US suicide rates decline in the second quarter of 2020?

Saturday, April 24, 2021

By Stevie Rosignol-Cortez

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YES

The suicide rate declined through the first half of 2020, countering some expectations about the impact of the pandemic.

The rate was 13.4 per 100,000 people in 2020’s second quarter, down from 14.1/100,000 in the first quarter, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. The rate averaged 14.5/100,000 in 2019, and had steadily increased since 2000. Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that historically pandemics have often been followed by a higher suicide rate, and that the COVID-19 pandemic heightens some risk factors such as economic stress, social isolation and barriers to mental health treatment.

In some past epidemics, suicide rates improved before worsening, reflecting a “honeymoon period” or a “pulling together” phenomenon, according to Johns Hopkins.

The CDC has not yet made more recent data available.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

US Centers for Disease Control Mortality data for suicides (compiled from CDC website)

Hopkins Guides Suicide risk in the COVID-19 pandemic

AP News Suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.