Suicide Facts and Statistics
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Over 30,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year.In 2003 (latest available date), there were 31,484 reported suicide deaths.Suicide is fourth leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years in the U.S., with approximately 25,000 suicides. Currently, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.A person dies by suicide about every 18 minutes in the U.S. An attempt is estimated to be made once every minute.Ninety percent of all people who die by suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death.There are four male suicides for every female suicide, but twice as many females as males attempt suicide.Every day, approximately 80 Americans take their own life, and 1,500 more attempt to do so. Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death among those 5-14 years old.Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.The suicide rate for white males aged 15-24 has tripled since 1950, while for white females it has more than doubled.Among young people aged 10-14 years, the rate has doubled in the last two decades.Between 1980-1996, the suicide rate for African-American males aged 15-19 has also doubled.Risk factors for suicide among the young include suicidal thoughts, psychiatric disorders (such as depression, impulsive aggressive behavior, bipolar disorder, certain anxiety disorders), drug and/or alcohol abuse and previous suicide attempts, with the risk increased if there is situational stress and access to firearms. The suicide rates for men rise with age, most significantly after age 65.White men over 50 who make up less than a quarter of the population are responsible for almost 40 percent of all suicides.The suicide rates for women peak between the ages of 45-64 years old, and do so again after age 75.Most elderly patients who complete suicide see their physicians within a few months of their death and more than a third within the week of their suicide.Eight to 20 percent of older Americans and up to 37 percent in primary care settings experience symptoms of depression.Risk factors for suicide among the elderly include the presence of a mental illness – especially depression and alcohol abuse; the presence of a physical illness; social isolation – especially being widowed in males; and the availability of firearms in the home. Over 60 percent of all people who die by suicide suffer from major depression. If one includes alcoholics who are depressed, this figure rises to over 75 percent.Depression affects nearly 10 percent of Americans ages 18 and over in a given year, or more than 19 million people.More Americans suffer from depression than coronary heart disease (7 million), cancer (6 million) and AIDS (200,000) combined.About 15 percent of the population will suffer from clinical depression at some time during their lifetime. Thirty percent of all clinically depressed patients attempt suicide; half of them ultimately succeed.Depression is among the most treatable of psychiatric illnesses. Between 80 percent and 90 percent of people with depression respond positively to treatment, and almost all patients gain some relief from their symptoms. But first, depression has to be recognized. Ninety-six percent of alcoholics who die by suicide continue their substance abuse up to the end of their lives.Alcoholism is a factor in about 30 percent of all completed suicides.Approximately 7 percent of those with alcohol dependence will die by suicide. Although most gun owners reportedly keep a firearm in their home for “protection” or “self defense,” 83 percent of gun related deaths in these homes are the result of a suicide, often by someone other than the gun owner.Firearms are used in more suicides than homicides.Death by firearms is the fastest growing method of suicide.Firearms account for 60 percent of all suicides. Patients who desire an early death during a serious or terminal illness are usually suffering from a treatable depressive condition.People with AIDS have a suicide risk up to 20 times that of the general population.Studies indicate that the best way to prevent suicide is through the early recognition and treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses. Figures from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics for the year 2003. URL accessed May 30, 2006.
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