The national suicide rate of 13.3/100,000 for 1977 represented a 38-yr. high. Not since 1940 (14.4/100,000) had the suicide rate for the United States been above 12.8/100,000. 7 of the 11 states with the highest rates in 1940 were still among the states with the highest rates in 1977. With one exception, the 21 states whose rates increased during that 38-yr. period were contiguous and located in the southern portion of the U.S. The 29 states whose rates decreased during the same period were contiguous, except for Hawaii, and situated in the northern and western sections of the country.
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