PHILADELPHIA Deaths from self-inflicted gunshot wounds are on the rise among young African-American males.

A study conducted by Sean Joe of the University of Pennsylvania, and Mark Kaplan of Portland State University found that the rate of suicide among African-American males aged 15 to 24 increased by 14 percent from 1979 to 1997 while the rate among same-aged white males decreased by 4.9 percent.

Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among African-American males aged 15-24, and 70 percent of all late-teens suicides among black males are gun-related.

The findings were published in the March 2002 issue of Psychiatric Services Journal.

"African-American youth who are suicidal are more apt to turn to firearms, which often lead to lethal results," said Joe, an assistant professor in Penn School of Social Work.

"The evidence is clear that firearm-related suicide is becoming a major public health problem among African-American males," the study said.

Health-care providers should ask depressed and suicidal African-American youths if they have access to firearms, Joe said. Although this recommendation may seem obvious, the study found that depressed patients are not asked this question with any kind of regularity.