We thank Eiffert et al. for their letter (1). The authors conducted bias analyses on suicide mortality rates, and by adjusting for proportion undercounted and a sensitivity percentage, found suicide mortality rates higher than those we reported (2). Eiffert et al.’s adjusted suicide death rates suggest that contributions of deaths from suicide to recent US adult mortality are greater than originally suggested, especially for Black men. However, adjusted rates do not change the trends in suicide mortality that we reported, which indicate that recent increases in US suicide rates have occurred among Black and White men and women in similar ways. We agree with Eiffert et al. that future sensitivity analyses ought to incorporate bias analyses to verify robustness.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was funded by the University of Colorado Population Center grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development (CUPC project 2P2CHD066613) and the Leverhulme Trust.
Conflict of interest: none declared.
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