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Article snippet: The suicide deaths of fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain this week has heightened public awareness of what experts describe as a growing, and often overlooked, public health issue in the U.S. The news Friday of Bourdain’s death prompted tributes from MORE and former President Obama, and cries of grief and surprise on social media. Statistically, the rates of suicide in the United States are increasing, meaning that while Bourdain’s and Spade’s passings can be a shock to millions, they are not as unusual as they may seem. “These prominent deaths remind us that this is the tenth leading cause of death in America,” said Dr. Jerry Reed, a national suicide prevention expert and executive committee member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. In reality, he said “this happens every day to people all across the country. It’s a reminder we have a long way to go.” An analysis released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Thursday showed suicide rates have increased in 49 states since 1999 — with half of those states seeing an increase of 30 percent. In 2016, 45,000 people died from suicide. “These findings are disturbing. Suicide is a public health problem that can be prevented,” said CDC principal deputy director Anne Schuchat. Not all suicide deaths are associated with mental illness One important point from the CDC study, experts say, is that more than half of people who died from suicide during the ... Link to the full article to read more