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CALHOUN RANKS FIFTH IN WV SUICIDE RATE |
| (09/26/2008) |
| Gilmer County had the second highest number of suicides with Calhoun following in fifth place, according to a report issued this week by the State Council for the Prevention of Suicide. The study included the state's 55 counties. Pocahontas County had the highest suicide rate in West Virginia over the past 12 years. Thirty-four people took their own lives in Pocahontas County between 1995 and 2007. Gilmer County had the next highest suicide rate, followed by McDowell, Mercer and Calhoun counties. The rates were calculated based on total suicides per 100,000 people. The report said statewide, 3,491 people committed suicide during the past 12 years. A mental health worker said residents in rural areas typically have easier access to guns, with an increasing number of suicides seeming to be linked to drug and alcohol abuse. Braxton and Taylor counties had the next lowest suicide rates. In terms of sheer numbers, Kanawha County had the most suicides with 370, followed by Raleigh (176), Cabell (162), and Berkeley (149). The prevention council plans to provide training to behavioral health professionals in counties with high suicide rates in the coming months. The state's mental health system no longer has a physical presence in some rural counties like Calhoun. Last July, the state Health Statistics Center released a report that showed West Virginia's suicide rate among young adults is rising sharply. Suicides among West Virginians between the ages of 20 and 24 nearly doubled over the past five years. Youth between the ages of 15 to 19 also are committing suicide at a higher rate.
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