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.