The most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were 38,364 suicides in the U.S. in 2010 — an average of 105 a day. Thirty-three percent of suicides tested positive for alcohol in 2009 and 20 percent for opiates, including heroin and prescription painkillers.

Experts said there is no good data on suicides after rehab in part because treatment programs vary widely and it can be unclear if an overdose is intentional. But a patient with substance abuse problems is at higher risk for a suicide attempt.

Dr. Sharon Hirsch, an associate professor in the University of Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, says patients can get trapped in the yin and yang of addiction. She was not familiar with McCready’s case, but noted people abusing alcohol or drugs have a lower impulse control. And their lows when they’re off drugs become more difficult to overcome, also lowering their resolve.

Dealing with loss, as McCready was, also increases risk, especially around anniversaries.

Hirsch said mental health and addiction issues have to be taken as seriously as a heart attack.

‘‘Depression and substance dependence are all very malignant disorders and I think people forget that,’’ Hirsch said. ‘‘They think of cancer, strokes and heart attacks killing people, but depression, substance abuse and eating disorders, too, all kill people. There are very, very high rates of deaths in those illnesses.’’

Pinsky’s shows drew attention to the struggle. But did they help patients? Pinsky has taken an interest in cast members after the shows end and referred them to continuing treatment. But ultimately Hirsch wonders who was on call the last time McCready pondered killing herself.

‘‘One of the key components of any treatment is to talk confidentially with your treatment provider about every aspect of what is going on with you, to be able to get the best care you can,’’ she said. ‘‘I just don’t know how that could occur in the context of an internationally televised show. And so it would be difficult for me to envision it as a complete treatment program. ... It just really strikes me as entertainment and not as treatment.’’

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