Suicide

• Over 32,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year.
• Every day, approximately 80 Americans take their own life. 1,500 more attempt to do so.
• Over 1 million people globally elect to end their life. That is one every 40 seconds.
• Among students aged 10-14 years, the rate has doubled in the last two decades.
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.
• Suicide is one of the top three leading causes of death for ages 15-44.
• Suicide is fourth leading cause of death for adults between the ages of 18 and 65.
• Ninety percent of all people who die by suicide have a diagnosable 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.

Depression

• Depression affects over 100 million people globally.
• One in five students suffer from some form of depression.
• Twenty percent of students with depression attempt suicide.
• More Americans suffer from depression than coronary heart disease (12 million), cancer (10 million) and HIV/AIDS (1 million)
• Over 60 percent of all people who die by suicide suffer from major depression. If we include alcoholics who are depressed, this figure rises to over 75 percent.
• By 2010 Depression will be the #1 disability in the world according to the World Health Organization.

Suicide Facts by Gender

• It is estimated that one woman attempts suicide every 78 seconds.
• Women attempt suicide twice as much as men.
• The higher rate of attempted suicide in women may be attributed to the elevated rate of mood disorders among females, such as major depression, dysthymia and seasonal affective disorder.
• Although women attempt suicide more often, men complete suicide at a rate four times that of women.
• More women than men report a history of attempted suicide, with a gender ratio of 2:1.
• Firearms are now the leading method of suicide in women, as well as men.
• Suicide is more common among women who are single, recently separated, divorced, or widowed.
• 60 to 80 percent of women experience transient depression, and 10 percent to 15 percent of women develop clinical depression during the postpartum period.
• The suicide rates for women peak between the ages of 45-54 years old, and again after age 75.
• Women are more likely than men to have stronger social supports, to feel that their relationships are deterrents to suicide and seek psychiatric and medical intervention. This in addition to choosing pills and gas which are less lethal methods, may contribute to their lower rate of completed suicide.

Seniors

• 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+.
• About 60 percent of elderly patients who take their own lives see their primary care physician within a few months of their death.
• 6 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.

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 52 percent of all suicides.

Physical 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 early recognition and treatment for depression and other psychiatric illnesses.

Statistics provided by the World Health Organization, the American Association for Suicidology and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.