Yes, U.S. Farmer Suicide is Significantly Higher Than the National Average

Abstract

This work analyzes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 17-state survey and its subsequent errata on U.S. suicide rates. The CDC study, which had generated media interest on U.S. farmer suicide, was retracted following the emergence of a coding error. Although the CDC corrected and republished its survey, inconsistent claims grounded on statistical data misuse suggested that inaccuracies surrounding these data might have relied upon a social bias—eventually debasing the reality of farmer suicide. Such assertions did not leave observations unscathed. Media outlets withdrew their reports, despite further evidence on the U.S. farmer suicide phenomenon. Here, the CDC’s associated federal Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) groups are re-examined alongside a 19-year study on farmer and agricultural worker suicide sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). Existing data and literature, in fact, indicate that farmers have a significant suicide risk.

Commentary on: Peterson, C, Stone, DM, Marsh, SM, Schumacher, PK, Tiesman, HM, LiKamWa McIntosh, W et al. 2018, Suicide rates by major occupational group—17 states, 2012 and 2015, MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 67, no. 45 pp. 1253-1260.

Citation: Bissen, S, 2020, "Yes, U.S. Farmer Suicide is Significantly Higher Than the National Average", Organisms: Journal of Biological Sciences, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 17-25. DOI: 10.13133/2532-5876/16959.