The most frightening statistic of the last week may well be the teen suicide rates released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control.

The suicide rate for girls 10 to 14 years old shot up by 67 percent from 2003 to 2004. For all young people between the ages of 10 and 24, the rate rose by 8 percent, the biggest single-year increase in 15 years.

The number of 10- to 14-year-old girls who commit suicide still is small; the 67 percent increase represented 94 suicides in that age group in 2004, compared with 56 in 2003. The question most people would ask, however, is why any girl in that age group would see the need to end her life. What leads a child that age to such levels of despair?

The suicide rate for girls 15 to 19 years old also shot up 32 percent and male suicides in the same age group increased by 9 percent. Males, however, account for the majority of suicides. In all, 4,599 U.S. young people from 10 to 24 years old committed suicide in 2004; about three-fourths of those were young men. Suicide was the third-leading cause of death in this age group in 2004, surpassed only by traffic accidents and homicide.

CDC officials are looking at possible reasons for the trend. Depression is on the rise among adolescents and the use of antidepressants has declined since federal regulators warned they appeared to increase suicidal behavior in young people. Whatever the reason, this trend needs to change.

In Lawrence, a social work program aimed specifically at school children is threatened with loss of funding, and hospital mental health services have been curtailed. Yet, there are increasing reports of local teens stressed out by the pressures of family and school. And, yes, young people have committed suicide – right here in Lawrence.

There is something wrong with this picture. Teen suicide is not a statistic to which Lawrence and Douglas County want to contribute. The national statistics released this week should be a call to action for everyone who cares about young people.