Young people in hypercompetitive Santa Clara County don’t appear to be at greater risk of suicide than their peers in the rest of California, but parents, teachers and others who interact with potentially troubled South Bay teens could do a better job forming close connections to them and getting them help, according to a new federal report.

The paper released this week came at the request of public health authorities in Santa Clara County who were alarmed by two well-publicized clusters of teen suicides in Palo Alto. Six young people died in 2009 and 2010 and four died in 2014 and 2015, most by standing in front of Caltrains near their schools.

The report, conducted by two federal agencies, is preliminary and draws mostly on data from death records and state surveys. A final report, due to be released this year, is expected to examine the clusters that prompted the investigation and how media reports and other community actions helped or hindered efforts to reduce suicide in the region.

“One of the first steps in reducing the stigma around depression and other mental-health issues, including what may lead to a suicide, is to know the facts,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County health officer, in a statement.

The report was compiled by investigators with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Lower than U.S. average

The yearly suicide rate for Santa Clara County residents between the ages of 10 and 24 ranged from 4.8 to 6.2 per 100,000 people over a 10-year period that included both suicide clusters, according to the report. The rates closely mirrored statewide averages, while remaining lower than the U.S. average, which was 8.3 suicides per 100,000 young people in 2014.

The rate is far lower in Santa Clara County than in several rural California communities, including Mendocino, Lake and Humboldt counties, which each had rates higher than 12 suicides per 100,000 young people over a 10-year period.

Those rates reflect national trends that show much higher suicide rates in rural areas, where people may lack access to mental-health care and are more likely to struggle with poverty and substance abuse, both of which can put them at risk of suicide.

The report looked at 203 suicides among Santa Clara County young people from 2005 to 2015; deaths ranged from a low of 13 in 2010 to a peak of 26 in 2011. Of those deaths, 47 percent were by hanging or suffocation and 22 percent were by gun. Ten percent died by poisoning and another 10 percent were killed by trains.

Federal investigators — who did the bulk of their research over two weeks in February, when they visited Santa Clara County to conduct interviews — were not able to break down much data to the city level because of the small numbers of suicides.

They also looked at state surveys of young people that asked whether they had considered suicide or experienced mental-health distress, such as severe depression or anxiety. Results of those surveys were available by school district, including Palo Alto Unified, where the two suicide clusters occurred.

Those surveys found particularly high rates of school absences in Palo Alto among students who had considered suicide or experienced mental-health distress. Many students reported missing school due to lack of sleep; because they were feeling sad, hopeless or anxious; or because they were falling behind in their schoolwork.

Palo Alto concerns

Teachers and parents who were among the first to plead for help in stopping suicides among Palo Alto teens said this week’s report did not go into enough depth to describe what’s happening in the school community.

The survey results looking at suicidal thoughts and mental-health crises should be of “deep concern” to school and public-health officials, said Marc Vincenti, a former English teacher at Palo Alto’s Gunn High School who now leads a group aimed at preventing suicide and improving mental health among Palo Alto students.

His students, he said, were overworked and overwrought, and classes were too big for teachers to form close bonds with their pupils that could help address some of their stress and frustration.

“Sleep loss is a tremendous predictor of depression. And we let this happen when there are things we could easily change about the way our schools are run,” Vincenti said.

The report, he said, “is shallow, its limitations are great, and it tells us so little. And what it does tell us is to some degree misleading. This is the worst public-health crisis in the history of this city, and it deserves much better than this report.”

County and school leaders will wait to carry out recommendations from the investigation until the final report is out. But school officials said they had already recognized a need to help students develop closer relationships within the academic community — with each other, with teachers and with counselors.

“There’s so much emphasis on test scores and student achievement,” said Palo Alto Unified Superintendent Max McGee. “But I think we need to balance that with student mental health and well-being and engagement.”

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com

Suicide resources

Signs of depression: Parents who worry that their child may be depressed or considering suicide should look for these symptoms of depression:

— Feeling or acting sad or irritable.

— Changes in sleeping or eating patterns.

— Trouble in school or a sudden drop in grades.

— Lack of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable.

— Withdrawing from friends or family. Spending more time alone.

— Change in personality.

Where to go for help: A toll-free suicide hotline is available around the clock at (855) 278-4204.