According to a pair of reports issued on June 7 by the CDC, suicide rates have increased nearly 30% in the US since 1999.

“Jennifer Frost, M.D., medical director for the AAFP’s Health of the Public and Science Division, told AAFP News the increase in suicide rates in the United States is a concerning trend.

“While it is a complex issue, family physicians have a role in preventing suicide,” she said. “Family physicians should screen all adults for depression, and those who screen positive should receive further evaluation and appropriate treatment.”

That advice pertains, in particular, to the more than half of suicide victims who don’t have a known mental health condition. “One wonders how many of those individuals had been screened for depression,” Frost said.”  See the full AAFP article here.