Increases in suicidal ideation, attempted suicide rates, sadness/hopelessness observed after 2009
MONDAY, Oct. 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Adolescent mental health appeared to reach a turning point around 2009 to 2010, which was seen across various mental health indicators, according to a study presented at the annual American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition, held from Oct. 2 to 6 in San Diego.
Saurabh Sharma, M.D., a medical doctor from Horseheads in New York, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional trend analysis using nationally representative Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System data from 1991 to 2021 for U.S. high school students in grades 9 to 12 to identify potential inflection points in adolescent mental, behavioral, and academic indicators.
The researchers found that from 1991 to 2009, there was a significant decline in the number of high school students who had suicidal ideation (annual percent change [APC], −3.61 percent), while a rapid increase was seen from 2009 to 2021 (APC, +3.66 percent). After 2009, there was a significant increase in attempted suicide rates (APC, +3.42 percent). From 2009 to 2017, there was a modest increase in sadness/hopelessness (APC,+1.71 percent), which accelerated sharply from 2017 to 2021 (APC, +7.67 percent). After 2013, there was an increase in insufficient sleep (APC, +1.58 percent), while an increase in obesity was seen after 2011 (APC, +2.68 percent). A steady decline was seen in academic performance from 2001 to 2019 (APC, −1.83 percent).
“The most surprising finding was not simply that mental health worsened, but that all indicators changed around the same time,” coauthor Niyati Sharma, a student at Horseheads High School in New York, said in a statement. “While our study cannot determine what caused these changes, the coordinated shift suggests we may be observing the impact of broader societal changes rather than isolated problems and it [deserves] much closer investigation to protect the mental health of future generations.”
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