Suicide Prevention Basics

Author: The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)

Topic: Suicide

Suicide Prevention Basics

About Suicide

    • Suicide is a major public health problem. In 2002
    • 31,655 people died by suicide in the United States.
    • Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. In the U.S., more people die by suicide each year than die because of HIV or homicide.
    • 11 out of every 100,000 Americans died by suicide.

There are gender, ethnic, and age differences in suicide

    • Males are four times more likely to die by suicide than females - although females attempt suicide three times as often as males.
    • White Americans are more likely to die by suicide than Americans of other racial backgrounds.
    • Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 15-24 and the second leading cause of death among those between the ages of 25-34.
    • Suicide rates increase with age. Elderly people who die by suicide are often divorced or widowed and suffering from a physical illness.

There is a strong association between suicide and mental illness.

    • Ninety percent of suicides that take place in the United States are associated with mental illness, including disorders involving the abuse of alcohol and other drugs.
    • Fifty percent of those who die by suicide were afflicted with major depression, and the suicide rate of people with major depression is eight times that of the general population.
    • Suicide is a preventable public health problem.

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References

Data generated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's WISQARS system in September, 2005.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004). Suicide Fact Sheet. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/suifacts.htm.

Goldsmith, S, Pellmar, A, Kleinman, A, Bunney, W. (editors) (2002). Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Jacobs, D, Brewer, M, and Klein-Benheim, M. (1999) Suicide Assessment: An Overview and Recommended Protocol. In The Harvard Medical School Guide to Suicide Assessment and Intervention edited by D. Jacobs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Goal 1. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (2001). Rockville, MD: United States Public Health Service.