My son, Paul, died by suicide thirteen years ago. Here are the suicide statistics for the year 2009 (ten years since he died). It's the latest available data though I hear the numbers are even worse now - especially with the rate of one suicide a day in the military. Seems to me we have a lot of work to do to prevent suicide.
American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention 2009 data:
Facts and Figures
National Statistics
General
- Over 36,000 people in the
United States die by suicide every year.
- In 2009 (latest available
data), there were 36,909 reported suicide deaths.
- Suicide is the fourth leading
cause of death for adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years in the
United States.
- Currently, suicide is the 10th
leading cause of death in the United States.
- A person dies by suicide about
every 15 minutes in the United States.
- Every day, approximately 101
Americans take their own life.
- 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 three times as many females as males attempt
suicide.
- There are an estimated 8-25
attempted suicides for every suicide death.
Youth
- Suicide is the sixth leading
cause of death among those 5-14 years old.
- Suicide is the third leading
cause of death among those 15-24 years old.
- Between the mid-1950s and the
late 1970s, the suicide rate among U.S. males aged 15-24 more than tripled
(from 6.3 per 100,000 in 1955 to 21.3 in 1977). Among females aged 15-24,
the rate more than doubled during this period (from 2.0 to 5.2). The youth
suicide rate generally leveled off during the 1980s and early 1990s, and
since the mid-1990s has been steadily decreasing.
- 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.
- Between 15 and 25 children every year commit
suicide because they are being bullied
Older People
- The suicide rates for men rise
with age, most significantly after age 65.
- The rate of suicide in men 65+
is seven times that of females who are 65+.
- The suicide rates for women
peak between the ages of 45-54 years old, and again after age 75.
- About 60 percent of elderly
patients who take their own lives see their primary care physician within
a few months of their death.
- Six to 9 percent of older
Americans who are in a primary care setting suffer from major depression.
- More than 30 percent of
patients suffering from major depression report suicidal ideation.
- Risk factors for suicide among
the elderly include: a previous attempt, the presence of a mental illness,
the presence of a physical illness, social isolation (some studies have
shown this is especially so in older males who are recently widowed) and
access to means, such as the availability of firearms in the home.
Depression
- 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 24
million people.
- More Americans suffer from
depression than coronary heart disease (17 million), cancer (12 million)
and HIV/AIDS (1 million).
- 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 die by suicide.
- 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.
Alcohol and Suicide
- 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.
Firearms and 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 50 percent
of all suicides.
Medical Illness and Suicide
- 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 National Center for Health
Statistics for the year 2009.
