RISE looks at recent headlines concerning social determinants of health (SDoH).
CDC report: Suicide hit all-time high in 2022
Nearly 50,000 Americans died by suicide last year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The staggering number is more than ever before. While suicide rates had briefly decreased in 2019 and 2020, they increased approximately five percent in 2021 and then an additional 2.6 percent in 2022, with 49,449 deaths by suicide, the report found.
“Today’s report underscores the depths of the devastating mental health crisis in America. Mental health has become the defining public health and societal challenge of our time. Far too many people and their families are suffering and feeling alone,” said U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., in a statement. “These numbers are a sobering reminder of how urgent it is that we further expand access to mental health care, address the root causes of mental health struggles, and recognize the importance of checking on and supporting one another. If you or a loved one are in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, please know that your life matters and that you are not alone. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 for anyone who needs help.”
Additional report findings include:
- While the overall number of deaths by suicide increased in 2022, the number decreased among American Indian/Alaskan Native people (6.1 percent) as well as individuals ages 10-24 (8.4 percent).
- Suicide deaths increased the most among adults ages 65 and older in 2020, increasing 8.1 percent from 2021 to 10,433.
- Adults ages 25-44 had the highest number of deaths by suicide in 2022 compared to any other age group, totaling 16,843.
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander individuals experienced the highest increase in suicide deaths, with a 15.9 percent increase.
Study: SDoH contribute to high rates of CVD mortality among Black individuals
A recent study published by Annals of Internal Medicine found a significant association between SDoH and persistent racial disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. According to the study, conducted by a team of researchers from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Topical Medicine, social needs significantly contributed to high rates of CVD mortality among Black individuals compared to white individuals.
To better understand the extent to which social risk factors impact CVD mortality, the researchers examined data from the National Examination Survey between 1999 to 2018. They found rates of CVD mortality were higher among Black individuals (484.7 deaths per 100,000 person-years) compared to white individuals (384.5 deaths per 100,000 person-years).
Several social, behavioral, and metabolic factors were associated with a higher risk for CVD death, according to the study. Social factors identified included unemployment, low income, food insecurity, lack of home ownership, and unpartnered status. Behavioral factors included smoking, lack of physical activity, and sleep. And the metabolic factors were obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.
How AI can help identify SDoH in vulnerable patients
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a useful tool to identify patients’ non-medical needs affecting their health, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan. The study found that a natural language processing (NLP) tool, a form of AI that analyzes human speech and writing, was effective in identifying SDoH, including unstable access to transportation, food insecurity, social isolation, financial problems and signs of abuse, and neglect or exploitation.
For the study, researchers focused on patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, a patient population with complex needs. The study leveraged 1,000 medical notes randomly selected from more than 7,000 emergency department and inpatient social worker notes from 2015 to 2019 in the electronic health records of 231 patients with dementia at Michigan Medicine.
The research team is now working to validate the NLP algorithm with the SDoH questionnaire being used with all primary care patients at Michigan Medicine to compare what the program discovers with what patients share on the questionnaire.
“We are also preparing a pilot program that will evaluate the feasibility of an intervention that addresses these social determinants of health, and connect identified people with community resources,” said lead study author Elham Mahmoudi, Ph.D., a health economist at Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan’s academic medical center, in a statement. “In the meantime, we hope our current results show that this algorithm can be used by clinicians, case managers and social workers to proactively address the social needs of patients with dementia, and potentially other vulnerable patient populations.”