San Benito County has the lowest suicide rate in the state,
according to a report from the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention.
San Benito County has the lowest suicide rate in the state, according to a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC study cited the number of completed suicides for every 100,000 residents in each county between 1979 and 1996, with the count having an average of 8.8 suicide deaths per year.
Santa Clara County also reported a comparatively low rate of 10.4 suicides – 54th among the state’s 58 counties. Monterey County ranked 42nd with a rate of 12.4.
The data from the CDC showed up in a recent study by the Marin County Mental Health Department. Marin and San Francisco counties’ suicide numbers are vastly affected by the Golden Gate Bridge, the No. 1 location for suicides in the United States.
Allen Yamamoto, director of San Benito County Mental Health, said the county’s low suicide incidence is noticeable compared to other communities in which he has previously worked.
“Of course, everybody wants to think part of it is (San Benito County) Mental Health doing the right things,” he said. “But those studies are just the kind of things that produce more questions.”
Depression, for instance, is the most common diagnosis for suicidal patients, he said. And Yamamoto said the county may lend itself to a lower incidence of depression because of several factors, including the its rural nature.
“Residents would believe there is less pressure, both psychological and emotional, in a city less dense than an urban area,” he said.
Demographics and other characteristics that make up the community also probably play a role, he said.
About 50 percent of county residents are Hispanic, and Yamamoto said suicide is generally shunned upon in the Hispanic community as a way to deal with psychological distress.
The suicide rate for Hispanics in the state was 4.6, according to a state Department of Health Services report from May 2000.
“Typically that is not acceptable (among Hispanics),” he said.
The state Department of Health in its latest findings also reported San Benito County as having the lowest rate in the state, with an average suicide rate of 6.5 between 1996-98.
Using the county’s population from the most recent census, a rate of 6.5 would equate to between three and four suicides per year.
No comparative studies have been performed for 2002. The Free Lance requested the number of suicides in the county in 2001 and 2002, but that information could not be compiled by press time.
In the U.S. the suicide rate is 10.7 per 100,000 people. Suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death, according to statistics compiled by the CDC.
Yamamoto said patients experiencing severe depression demand availability of mental health support, along with case management and medication.
To reach the San Benito County Mental Health crisis line for suicide and other problems, or for more information about SBC Mental Health, call (888) 636-4020.
