Re: Suicide Number Three Killer of Children in Michigian


"Eric Bohlman" <ebohlman@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Xns975BF0675F5E7ebohlmanomsdevcom@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "JanD" <JanD@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
> SwADf.765009$xm3.129792@attbi_s21:">news:SwADf.765009$xm3.129792@attbi_s21:
>
>> http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060130/cgm035.html?.v=35
>>
>> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network Raise
>> Awareness of Youth Depression, Suicide Among Health Policy Leaders
>> Throughout State
>>
>> Monday January 30, 10:14 am ET
>> Companies partner with national health policy magazine to combat
>> suicide as the Number 3 killer of children in Michigan
>
> The press writer here is getting away with something he really shouldn't.
>
>> Suicide is the third leading cause of death for Michigan young people
>> -- and that makes it a major public health problem in the state,
>> according to health officials. Between the years 1999-2002, 583
>> Michigan youngsters age 10- 24 died by their own hand. Moreover,
>> experts in suicide prevention say that many of these deaths -- most of
>> which are based in an underlying mental illness -- can be prevented.
>
> [snip]
>
>> * According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
>> at the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at
>> http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars , which notes that between the years
>> 1999- 2002 (the most recent year for which data is available), 583
>> children ages 10- 24 in Michigan took their own lives.
>
> Almost half that age range consists of adults (18-24), and according to
> the CDC figures, they account for 72% of the suicides (109 between 18 and
> 19, and 312 between 20 and 24). There were only 162 suicides among
> "youngsters" or "children." Thus it appears that suicide is really a
> "young adult" problem rather than a "childhood" one. But making it seem
> like a childrens' problem tugs harder on the heartstrings. The danger
> here is that scarce resources will be directed into the wrong places;
> it's quite likely, for example, that many of the 18-24 year-olds who
> killed themselves *wouldn't* have shown any signs of suicidality or even
> depression when they were 10-17;

Oh?

Care to prove that?


it's likely that their problems were set
> off by transition-to-adulthood issues. Thus a strong focus on middle-
> and high-schoolers will likely miss most of the cases (I am writing
> "likely" an awful lot, aren't I?).

You said 'it', I didn't.
>
> No professional writer should be able to write "children ages 10-24" with
> a straight face, nor should any proofreader be able to go past it without
> it hitting them between the eyes.
>
> Note that according to the CDC figures, suicide is actually the *second*
> largest cause of death among 10-17 year-old Michiganders (the biggest is
> accidents, 680 deaths and the third is homicide, 128 deaths. Cancer
> comes in fourth at 121, birth defects a distant fifth at 63, heart
> disease sixth at 58, asthma seventh at 33, benign tumors and
> influenza/pneumonia tying for eighth and ninth at 9 apiece, and three
> unstated causes tying for tenth at 8 deaths). Note that the 2003 data is
> now available; including it doesn't change the rankings (the 10-17
> suicide total for 1999-2003 is 195). Just for comparison, from 1994 to
> 1998 it was 205, from 1989 to 1993 it was 228, and from 1984 to 1988 it
> was 268. So referring to Michigan's 10-17 suicide rates as a "crisis" is
> a bit dramatic, and the insurers involved need to avoid creating the
> impression of launching a major initiative to deal with a problem that's
> already on the decline and then taking credit for any further decline.

*In your opinion*

Restored:

Depression is a disease no one wants to talk about but it affects both
young and old alike, often with tragic consequences," states Beth Goldman,
M.D., a medical consultant for the Blues and adjunct clinical assistant
professor at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. "Untreated,
depression can result in needless suffering and even suicide. Up to 80
percent of those who receive treatment recover, often within weeks."

Dr. Goldman adds that it is estimated that as many as one in 33 children and
one in eight youths age 9 through 17 suffer from depression. Once a young
person experiences depression, he or she is at risk of another episode
within five years.

Sheryl F. Lowe, BCBSM director of Health Policy and Social Mission, notes
that "the company has an ongoing commitment to raise Michigan residents'
awareness of depression and its treatment and to helping direct those in
need to sources of care."

For more information about the Youth issue of Advancing Suicide Prevention
Magazine, visit http://www.advancingsp.com .

* According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the
CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars , which notes that between the years 1999-
2002 (the most recent year for which data is available), 583 children ages
10- 24 in Michigan took their own lives.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit corporation, provides or
administers health care benefits to more than 4.7 million members through a
variety of plans: Traditional Blue Cross Blue Shield; Blue Preferred,
Community Blue and Health Blue PPOs; Blue Choice Point of Service; Blue Care
Network HMO and Flexible Blue Plans compatible with health savings accounts.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit
corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association. As part of the Michigan Blues' social mission to help improve
the health status of state residents, the Blues fund activities that address
four public health issues, among them depression awareness and treatment
through its "Depression ... Real. Common. Treatable." public education
campaign. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com.

About Advancing Suicide Prevention

A unique strategic health policy magazine, Advancing Suicide Prevention
presents the state of the science and policy on suicide prevention from
diverse perspectives and for diverse audiences. These include over 20,000
leaders and key decision makers in health care, social and human services,
policy development, advocacy, education and training, research, legal and
judicial arenas, law enforcement, corrections, crisis intervention, risk
management and pastoral counseling. This 36-page color magazine is published
by PDV Communications, Inc., a Wisconsin-based magazine publisher serving
the mental health and social services arenas. For more information, visit
www.advancingsp.com .



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