New Data on Suicide Counts in Travis County

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among Travis County millennials, according to new statistics released by Austin Public Health's Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit. The mortality data report, published last week, studied county mortality counts from 2010 through 2014 and found that more residents between the ages of 15 and 34 died by suicide than any other age group. Millennials accounted for more than a quarter of recorded deaths by suicide in Travis County – 193 of 655. Curiously, suicide was also one of the leading causes of death for local youth, ranking third for children aged 5 to 14. Suicide drops significantly as a cause of death for county residents aged 35-44 and 45-64; fourth and fifth, respectively. The report doesn't list suicide as one of the top 10 causes of death for people in the county older than 64. Overall, suicide ranked seventh as the cause of death for individuals throughout the county; cancer ranked first. Although accidents were the leading cause of death among Travis County residents aged 1 to 44 (68% of the county population), unintentional injury ranked third overall.

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This story has been updated to reflect that Austin Public Health was referring to mortality counts, not mortality rates, and to clarify details about the cause of death of people older than 64.