Who Is Affected by Suicide?

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

  • Over 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022—1 death every 11 minutes.
  • Suicide rates rose by 37% from 2000 to 2018, then fell by 5% between 2018 and 2020. By 2022, rates had climbed back to their previous peak.

Many adults think about suicide or attempt suicide.

  • 13.2 million seriously thought about suicide.
  • 3.8 million made a suicide plan.
  • 1.6 million attempted suicide.

Certain groups experience significantly higher rates of suicide.

  • The racial/ethnic groups with the highest rates in 2022 were non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native people and non-Hispanic White people.
  • The suicide rate among males in 2022 was approximately four times higher than the rate among females. Males make up 50% of the population but nearly 80% of suicides.
  • The highest suicide rates are in the 85+ age group at 23.0, and the lowest in the 10-14 age group at 2.4. Rates are relatively high among those aged 55-64 and 45-54, while younger groups show lower rates.
  • Veterans have a suicide rate that is 57.3% higher than that of the non-veteran adult population in the U.S.
  • Among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations, suicide is the 9th leading cause of death.
  • High school students who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual attempt suicide at a rate five times greater than their heterosexual peers.
  • Suicide rates are highest among men working in specific industries, such as Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, as well as in occupations like Construction and Extraction.
  • People living in rural areas experience significantly higher suicide rates compared to those in urban areas. As population density decreases and areas become more rural, suicide rates tend to increase.

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.)
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