Ethnic Disparities in Suicide Rates Among in American Youth

TOPLINE:
Suicide rates among Asian American youths and young adults vary significantly by ethnic subgroup. Chinese, Filipino, and Indian youths have lower suicide rates than Korean, Vietnamese, and other Asian American youths.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study using publicly available data from the CDC WONDER database from 2018 to 2021.
Over 1000 Asian American adolescents and young adults who died by suicide were included in the analysis, with 305 females and 792 males.
Suicide rates were calculated for adolescents (age, 15-19 years) and young adults (age, 20-24 years) across the five largest Asian American subgroups: Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese.
TAKEAWAY:
Chinese (7.59 per 100,000 people), Filipino, and Indian (6.91 per 100,000 people) adolescents had lower suicide rates than Korean (8.44 per 100,000 people), Vietnamese (10.57 per 100,000 people), and other Asian American youths.
Meanwhile, Filipino (16.03 per 100,000 people), Indian, Korean, Vietnamese (17.66 per 100,000 people), and other Asian American young adults had higher suicide rates than Chinese (9.24 per 100,000 people) young adults.
Suicide rates among adolescents and young adults who were Asian American were higher than those in the same age groups who were not Asian American.
When suicide rates are aggregated into a single racial category, the lower rate among Chinese adolescents and young adults mask the higher rates of other subgroups.
IN PRACTICE:
“These findings align with research showing that suicide was a leading cause of death for Korean and Vietnamese individuals,” study authors wrote. “The other Asian American subgroup included southeast Asians, such as Cambodian individuals, who may have high rates of suicidal ideation.”
SOURCE:
The study was led by Anthony L. Bui, MD, MPH, in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle and the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and was published online on August 19, in JAMA Pediatrics. Bui received financial support from the Seattle Children’s Research Institute and University of Washington Department of Pediatrics, Seattle.
LIMITATIONS:
The researchers were not able to further disaggregate Asian subgroups, assess differences by gender, or quantify morbidity from depression and other suicide risk factors by subgroup. Suppressed data may have also led to underestimated suicide rates for Filipino and Korean youths and young adults.
DISCLOSURES:
None reported.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
 
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