Results The overall suicide rate among children aged 5 to 11 years remained stable between 1993 to 1997 and 2008 to 2012 (from 1.18 to 1.09 per 1 million; IRR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.90-1.03). However, the suicide rate increased significantly in black children (from 1.36 to 2.54 per 1 million; IRR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.11-1.45) and decreased in white children (from 1.14 to 0.77 per 1 million; IRR = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.79-0.94). Although the changes were not statistically significant among girls, the suicide rate among black girls increased from 0.68 to 1.23 per one million during the 20-year period, while the suicide rate among white girls remained stable from 0.25 to 0.24 per one million, according to the study’s findings. Conclusions and Relevance The stable overall suicide rate in school-aged children in the United States during 20 years of study obscured a significant increase in suicide incidence in black children and a significant decrease in suicide incidence among white children. “From a public health perspective, future steps should include ongoing surveillance to monitor these emerging trends and research to identify risk, protective and precipitating factors associated with suicide in elementary school-aged children to frame targets for early detection and culturally informed interventions.” 
 
 Source: The JAMA Network Journals
– It has to rank among the saddest of studies: a new look at suicides among young children. Researchers reviewed two decades of CDC data, from 1993 to 2012. Though they write in JAMA Pediatrics that "suicide is a leading cause of death among school-aged children younger than 12 years," they found that suicides among those ages 5 to 11 are very rare, reports the AP: There were 657 during the period studied, or one roughly every week-and-a-half (per the CDC, the daily average for all ages is 105 suicides). But while the suicide rate remained stable during that time, "that stability obscured racial differences," observes Psych Central. The suicide rate decreased in white children, but increased significantly in black children, from from 1.36 to 2.54 per 1 million between the study's first five years and its last five. (In white children, the shift was from 1.14 to 0.77.) That shot suicide up from No. 14 on the list of causes of death among black kids of this age to No. 9; it's No. 11 for white kids. The researchers noted that 84% of those who committed suicide were boys and just 16% girls, and the rate worsens when viewed through a gender lens as well. For black boys, the rate climbed to 3.47 per million. The findings represent a big shift, per lead author Jeffrey Bridge. "Historically, the suicide rate among US black individuals has been lower than that of white individuals across age groups," reads the study. "To our knowledge, this is the first national study to observe higher suicide rates among US black individuals compared with white individuals." Hanging and suffocation were the main methods for young children. Bridge advises parents to look for warning signs like prolonged unhappiness and withdrawing from favorite activities. (Related: Why men kill themselves more often than women.)