homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Blue-collar workers face the highest risk of suicide in the US, report shows

Almost 38.000 people committed suicide in 2017, 40% more than two decades ago

Fermin Koop
January 27, 2020 @ 9:30 pm

share Share

In less than two decades, the suicide rate in individuals of working age in the US has increased by 40%, particularly affecting workers on the mining, oil and gas, construction, and vehicle industries, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Credit Wikipedia Commons

The report looked at data from 32 states that participated in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The public health institute reported that almost 38,000 people between 16 to 64 years of age committed suicide in 2017. This means a rate of 18 people out of 100,000, compared to 12.9 in the year 2000.

“Previous research indicates suicide risk is associated with low-skilled work, lower education, lower absolute and relative socioeconomic status, work-related access to lethal means, and job stress, including poor supervisory and colleague support, low job control, and job insecurity, the CDC wrote.

Among all men, the suicide rate was 27.4 individuals per 100,000 people, going up to 49.4 per 100.000 in the construction field. The professions with the highest suicide rate for men were mining, quarrying and oil and gas, with a 54.2 per 100.000 suicide rate.

Meanwhile, in the case of women, the rate for the total population was 7.7 per 100.000 individuals. Construction and extraction were the professions with the highest rate for women at 25.5 per 100.000 individuals.

The researchers said the report had several limitations. It didn’t look at the factors that might account for different suicide rates among and within the industry or occupational groups, it didn’t address suicide in unemployed workers, and the results aren’t nationally representative. Nevertheless, the findings highlighted the importance of prevention strategies such as increasing economic support, teaching problem-solving and coping skills and improving access to delivery of care. All industries can benefit from a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, researchers claimed.

“These findings highlight opportunities for targeted prevention strategies and further investigation of work-related factors that might increase the risk of suicide,” according to the CDC.

The report also mentioned a set of strategies to improve the overall well-being of workers. The list includes training workers to detect early signals and respond to them, giving them more time off and benefits, reducing the access to lethal means and creating a plan to respond to the needs of others at risk.

CDC’s workplace strategies to prevent suicide

-Promoting help-seeking

-Integrating workplace safety and health programs to advance the well-being of workers

-Referring workers to financial and other helping services

-Facilitating time-off and benefits

-Reducing access to lethal means

-Creating a crisis response plan

share Share

Scientists Just Found the Clearest Evidence Yet That Lucid Dreaming Is a Real State of Consciousness

People who are aware they are dreaming show distinct brain patterns.

Drug Regenerates Retina and Restores Vision in Blind Mice

A protein hidden in our eyes may be the reason we can't repair lost vison.

This Stretchy Battery Still Works After Being Twisted, Punctured, and Cut in Half

Not the most energy dense but its ability to withstand abuse is unparalleled.

The UAE Wants AI to Write Its Laws — What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

But can machines really grasp justice, fairness, and human rights?

Scientists Invent a Color Humans Have Never Seen Before

Meet "olo": a vivid, hyper-saturated blue-green that can't be captured by screens or paint.

This Chewing Gum Can Destroy 95 Percent of Flu and Herpes Viruses

Viruses had enough fun in our mouths, it's time to wipe them out.

Conservative people in the US distrust science way more broadly than previously thought

Even chemistry gets side-eye now. Trust in science is crumbling across America's ideology.

We Could One Day Power a Galactic Civilization with Spinning Black Holes

Could future civilizations plug into the spin of space-time itself?

Scientists filmed wild chimpanzees sharing alcohol-laced fermented fruit for the first time and it looks eerily familiar

New footage suggests our primate cousins may have their own version of happy hour.

China’s Humanoid Robots Stumble, Break Down, and Finish the World’s First Robot Half Marathon

Bipedal bots compete with humans in first half-marathon race — with a bit of help from duct tape.