Suicides on the Rise in Yolo County

by **shadyblogger** » Jul 19th, '14, 08:21

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/breakingne ... olo-county

More people kill themselves in Yolo County than are killed by others.

That was the surprising finding made to county supervisors Tuesday by Michael Wilkes, chairman of the Yolo County Health Council, who offered an update on "the good, the bad, and the ugly" aspects of health.

Wilkes, who is a medical doctor and UC Davis professor, touched upon suicide, obesity, vaccinations, and whooping cough among other concerns.

Focusing on negative findings, Wilkes noted the high number of suicides in Yolo County.

"There are more deaths from suicide than homicide, which is unfortunate," he said. "Lots of these are preventable."

Hospital admissions for suicide and self-inflicted injury were up 130 percent in 2012 when compared to 2008, according to the report.

Wilkes suggested county staff increase suicide prevention outreach and mental health services.

"The Health Council finds that early intervention services for at-risk clients and potential clients will help reduce increasing trends with hospital admissions for suicide and self inflicted injuries," the report states.

Wilkes told supervisors that in terms of mental health needs, "suicide is just the easiest measure we can track." Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other mental health conditions are harder to pinpoint.

"We should be working with them in treatment and bringing them back to the community," Wilkes said. "I think that really what the data shows at its core is a need for an increase in community outreach."

A lot of our stereotypes about suicide are wrong, Wilkes said. The second largest increase in suicides are among those 65 and older.

"This really speaks to this idea of the elderly being vulnerable," he said.

Sexually transmitted diseases, specifically chlamydia and gonorrhea, are also on the rise in Yolo County. The report urges staff to focus on outreach and testing of these conditions, which are increasing at significant rates.

Pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, has been on the rise as well.

In terms of smoking, there has been a decrease from 12 percent in 2008 to 7 percent for adults. Meanwhile, teenage smoking in the county has doubled, increasing from 5 percent in 2003 to 15 percent.

"Adult smoking has dropped enormously," Wilkes said. "Although, we are still a bit cautious."

The report recommends that both healthcare providers and the county Health Department continue education efforts to reduce smoking, particularly among teens.

Meanwhile, "there has been a considerable decline in the teenage birth rate over the past seven years," Wilkes said, clarifying that birth rate is different from the teen pregnancy rate. The decrease is most notable for the Latina population, which is down by 50 percent.

Moving on with his presentation, Wilkes noted the high rate of breast-feeding in Yolo County, which is better than the state average.

Supervisor Matt Rexroad wanted to know if the importance of breast-feeding has been emphasized across county programs, because breast-feeding factors into future well-being of the child, he said.

"I want to make sure we are doing that for the health of the children under our care," Rexroad said. "We're probably missing a couple opportunities to do that."

Jill Cook, director of health services, told the board "we are happy to come back and give you a view of what is happening with breast-feeding."

Additionally, the rate of up-to-date vaccinations for kindergartners is reported at 91.3 percent, slightly above the California rate of 90.3 percent.