70 Sedgwick County residents died last year from suicide

Suicide claimed the lives of 70 Sedgwick County residents last year, and commissioners declared Suicide Prevention Week on Wednesday.

The suicide rate last year was 14.1 per 100,000 Sedgwick County residents, according to a report shared with commissioners at their regular weekly meeting.

More than 60 percent of suicides were committed by gunshot, the report said. Those who committed suicide were overwhelmingly men, though women attempt suicide more often than men, the report showed. The average age for suicide victims was 43.

Jason Scheck, director of outpatient services at Comcare, the county’s mental health agency, said suicide prevention intervention does work. Calling a hotline, for example, prevents some people from taking their own lives.

Forty-seven percent of people who committed suicide last year had a history of mental illness. Twenty-three percent had a prior history of suicidal thoughts, and 3 percent had made prior suicidal attempts, the county’s report said. Thirty-seven percent of suicide victims had faced significant health issues.

Sedgwick County’s 24-hour suicide prevention hotline is 316-660-7500.

This story was originally published September 10, 2014 at 9:52 AM with the headline "70 Sedgwick County residents died last year from suicide."