Who Is Affected by Suicide?
- 47,511 Americans died by suicide in 2019. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Over 1.4 million Americans attempted suicide in 2019. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Middle-aged white males have the highest rate of suicide accounting for nearly 70% of deaths by suicide in 2019. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Whites and American Indians and Alaska natives account for the highest rates of suicide among Americans. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- The suicide rate among veterans is 1.5 times greater than non-veterans. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2019)
- Suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44. (Mentalhealth.gov)
- Black youth ages 10-19 are more likely to die by suicide than their white peers. (National Vital Statistics Report, 2019)
- Between 1991 and 2017, suicide attempts among black adolescents increased by 73%, while attempts among white youth decreased. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Economic Impact of Suicide
- The average cost of one suicide is $1,329,553. More than 97% of this cost is due to lost productivity. The remaining 3% are costs associated with medical treatment.
- The total cost of suicides and suicide attempts was $93.5 billion in 2015.
- Every dollar spent on psychotherapeutic interventions and interventions that strengthened linkages among different care providers saved $2.50 in the cost of suicides.
(Suicide and Suicidal Attempts in the United States: Costs and Policy Implications, 2015)
Depression and Suicide
- Depression is the cause of over two-thirds of the 30,000 reported suicides in the U.S. each year. (White House Conference on Mental Health, 1999)
- For every two homicides committed in the United States, there are three suicides. The suicide rate for older adults is more than 50% higher than the rate for the nation as a whole. Up to two-thirds of older adult suicides are attributed to untreated or misdiagnosed depression. (American Society on Aging, 1998)
- The lifetime risk of suicide among patients with untreated depressive disorder is nearly 20%. (Gotilb I, Hammen C. (2002). Handbook of Depression.)
- Suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 2018)
- From 2001 through 2017 for the total population, the total suicide rate increased 31% from 10.7 to 14.0 per 100,000. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2018)
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual children are 3x more likely to attempt suicide at some point in their lives compared to straight children. (CDC. Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2016)
- Trans adults are more likely to think about and attempt suicide in their lifetimes than straight counterparts. (U.S. Transgender Survey, 2015)
- Each time a person who is gay, lesbian or bisexual experiences physical or verbal harassment or abuse, the likelihood of self-harming behavior increases by 2.5 times on average. (IMPACT. Mental health disorders, psychological distress, and suicidality in a diverse sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths. American Journal of Public Health. 2010)
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people whose families reject or do not accept them are 8x more likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them. (Family Acceptance Project™. Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in white and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults. Pediatrics. 2009.)
