It is not difficult to make the assertion that suicide, particularly among teens, is approaching, if not at, the epidemic level.

In 2017, there were 47 percent more suicides among people aged 15 to 19 than in the year 2000. Furthermore, there were 6,200 suicides among people aged 15 to 24 in 2017, the second-leading cause of death among people in that age group, trailing only unintentional motor vehicle accidents, which claimed 6,697 lives. The suicide rate has increased among both males and females and reports cite data that there is an alarming increase among younger teens.

The youth statistics mirror a national trend among adults. Every day, approximately 129 Americans take their own lives. Among all age groups combined, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The numbers demonstrates just how serious an issue suicide has become among teens and young adults. That group accounted for more than one in eight 2017 suicides.

It’s impossible to accurately identify all of the potential contributing factors. Various expert sources cite drug use and a connection to the proliferation of opioids, and to mental illness (primarily major depression, from which more Americans age 18-plus suffer than heart disease, cancer and HIV).

There may be less obvious and harder to evaluate factors as well, such as social disconnection, bullying and the dystopian feelings those can bring on.

For adolescents, using social media in a way that detracts from face-to-face interactions could be particularly detrimental to mental health, said Victor Schwartz, chief medical officer at suicide prevention nonprofit The Jed Foundation, according to a PBS report.

What is clear is that efforts to prevent suicide should start earlier rather than later. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention posits that suicide is best prevented through early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of depression and other mental health conditions. Additionally, the Foundation points out that the overwhelming percentage of people with depression respond positively to treatment.

Parents and guardians are the first line of defense in suicide prevention. Parents should educate themselves on things such as detecting signs of a possible problem, what resources are available in their community should a problem manifest and how to establish or maintain a happy and healthy relationship with their children as children become teens and then young adults. There is a wealth of advice and recommendations on all of these topics online and parents should feel comfortable discussing the issue with medical professionals.

The worst thing parents could do is completely ignore the issue or believe that it could never happen in their own family.

While there may be an expanded role for schools (programs already exist), some would object to such involvement.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Some websites to consider as resources include https://afsp.org (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) and https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/ (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).