Utah’s Alarming Suicide Rate and Vital Stats

13 May

“The youth suicide rate has tripled in Utah since 2007 — jumping from three out of every 100,000 youth to 8.5, an alarming increase not seen anywhere else in the country. … It ” – KUTV.com

Earlier this week I opened an e-mail telling me the 7th kid attending Herriman High School in Utah, committed suicide. The young man was 17, and he like the others, have all died since this past summer.

Reports from KUTV.comstated there’s no clear reason why the numbers are so high, however, a state suicide prevention specialist (Andrea Hood) said it is ‘definitely a Utah problem’.

Each time we pull the numbers for our reports our hearts are saddened, and this time around is no exception. As you’ve probably noticed in our investigations stemming back to 2004, Utah’s vital stats are always ‘off’ compared to others in the nation.

This year Utah’s finally noticed the disparity, and the unnecessary reminder; they’ve got a huge problem on their hands. The rise in the youth suicide rate for ages 10-17 skyrocketed with a 136% increase from 2011–2015.

The overall stats are listed below in alphabetical order.

Our purpose in publishing these reports isn’t for the shock value. We’ve always done so in hopes someone will do something about it. Most importantly, however, is our fervent hope Christians will pray for their release of the bondage they’re in right now.

Please, pray for those in my beloved Utah, won’t you?

With Love in Christ;

Michelle

1 Cor. 1:18

Abortion

The rate of Utah abortions has always been significantly lower than the national average. While this is good, it’s too bad there’s anything needing to be reported at all.

UT – 4.6

US – 14.6

Bankruptcy/Foreclosures

July 2017 • Utah had the 6th highest rate of bankruptcy in the US.

September 2017 • Utah listed in the 21st spot for number of foreclosures.

Births

National Vital Statistics Report for 2016

UT Birth Rate 2016 – 16.5

US Birth Rate 2016 – 12.2

Aside from Utah, the only places with higher birth rates are Guam at 20.0 (high Catholic population), and American Samoa at 19.4 (high LDS population).

Children

Population

2016 • 921,773

Number of Child Abuse Victims, p. 89

2016 • 10,272

Number of Child Abuse Fatalities, p. 60

2016 • 12

Rate of Child Abuse Fatalities, p. 59

UT • 1.30

US • 2.36

For further info, see:

KIDSCOUNT

Divorce

Historically speaking, Utah’s divorce rate has been higher than the national average for quite some time now. It seems odd in light of their ‘families are forever’ doctrines.

UT Divorce Rate 2016 • 3.6

US Divorce Rate 2016 • 3.2

Domestic Violence Homicides

Every day in America, 3 women will be murdered by an intimate partner, according to CNN. Additionally, every year approximately 80 childrenwill witness the murder, or attempted murder of their mother.

The national rate of domestic violence related homicides hovers around 30%, except for Utah. In Utah the rate is much higher at 44%, according to Utah’s VIPP, who also reported there’s at least one domestic related homicide every 33 days in Utah, and three people die each month due to domestic violence related suicides.

US • 30%

UT • 44%

UT Domestic Violence Homicides

2016 • 22

2017 • 44

2018 • 8 (As of 5.10.2018)

CDC data retrieved 3.19.2018

CNN data retrieved 3.18.2018

Utah Domestic Violence Coalition

Drug Overdoses

It seems many of Utah’s rankings can’t fall below the national average. The drug overdose epidemic is no exception. The numbers represent the percentage of drug overdoses in all of Utah deaths for 2016.

UT • 22.4

US • 19.8

Homicide

2015 • 58

2016 • 63

2017 • 64 (VIPPUDOH)

= 185

Total based on Utah Dept. of Health

CDC reported 80 Utah homicides in 2016 with the following national rankings –

Homicide Mortality

Rate Per 100,000

UT • 2.5 (#10)

US • 6.2

CDC

Marriage

It’s no surprise Utah residents are some of the most married people in the US!

UT Marriage Rate 2016 • 9.0

US Marriage Rate 2016 • 6.9

  • Aside from HI @ 15.6, and NV @ 28.4, Utah has the highest marriage rate in the nation.

Population

Population Growth

US – 0.71%

UT – 1.85%

Percentage of LDS in UT Population –

UT Population – 3.16m

LDS Population – 62.8% – 2016

Data retrieved 3.21.2018

For further info, see:

Salt Lake County is Becoming Less Mormon… Salt Lake Trib

Data retrieved 3.21.2018

2.04% LDS Population in US

Data retrieved 3.21.2018

Rape

Overall, rape fell by 2.4% 2016-2017, but rose 2.5% in the west for 2016. Unfortunately, Utah saw a 20% higher rate of rape than the national average.

Forcible Rape Rate 2016

UT • 49.8

US • 29.6

Data retrieved 5.12.2018

School Expenditures

We ran a search with the following question, and the first few links revealed the same answer –

Q: What US state spends the least per pupil on education k-12?

A: Utah.

On the website Governing the States and Localities, Utah’s shame was followed by four others claiming the top five (or the bottom five, depending on how you look at it). They were Idaho, Idaho, Arizona, and Oklahoma.

Utah’s 2015 budget per pupil was $6,575 for the year, while NY had the largest at $21,206.

Per Pupil

  • NY $21,206
  • UT $6,575

Suicide

Oh, be still my heart.

How sad it was for us to discover the dismal stats on Utah suicides. It made it all the worse when reading the daily Google updates with reports of another teen suicide which has reached unprecedented heights in recent months.

By the time September rolled around in 2017, Utah had just seen its 425th suicide in nine months. On March 13, 2018, I accessed the Utah Violence and Injury Prevention Program website (hereafter VIPP) and found that 2017 saw 42 youth suicides.

Here are the facts on Utah suicides –

1 Every 14 Hours =

12 Per Week/1.7 Per Day

  • 2010 – 2017 Stats
  • 40% Increase in 8 Yrs
  • Avg. 563 Per Year
  • #1Cause of Death Ages 10-17
  • #2 Cause of Death Ages 25-44
  • 11x More Suicides Than Homicides
  • 5th Highest in US for Most Suicides
  • 1980 – 2017•12,925 Suicides in 37 Yrs
  • 2014 – The suicide rate in Utah was 51% higher than the U.S. suicide rate (13.2) and tied with Colorado for the third highest of all NVDRS states. 2014 Suicide Info Graphic

Year by Year 2010 – 2017

VIPP & IBIS Accessed 3.27.2018

Suicides –       Suicide Rates –

2010 – 466      20.6

2011 – 491      21.3

2012 – 545      23.3

2013 – 570      23.9

2014 – 555      22.9

2015 – 609      24.5

2016 – 612      24.2      US – 15.7

2017 – 654 (+95 to be determined)

Total = 4,502 (4597)

*The SL Trib Reported 652 suicides for 2016. However, the Utah Violence and Injury Prevention Program website reported 612 suicides for 2016.

CDC Study Results

A four year study by the CDC discovered the teen suicide rate rose 136%between 2011-2015, making it 3x higher than the national rate.

Suicide Rate for Youth Ages 10 –17

  • UT 11.1
  • US 4.2

UDOH Epi-AID Report, 2017, p. 115.

84% of Suicides from LDS Family Affiliation

UDOH Epi-AID Report, 2017, p. 91.

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