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Each year, over 31,000 Americans die by suicide and many more make a suicide attempt.
- Suicide deaths consistently outnumber homicide deaths by a margin of three to two.1
- In 2004, suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death in the United States of America.4
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death for those between the ages of 10 and 24 and the second leading cause of death for American college students.1
- The elderly, although they comprise only 12% of the population, account for about 16% of our nation's suicides.4
- Research has shown that more than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have depression or another diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder.2,3
- In 2002, twice as many Americans died from suicide than from HIV/AIDS.1
General Information about suicide:
- Suicide Fact Sheet
Produced by Research!America's in its "Investment In Research" fact sheet. The document features the most recently released CDC suicide death rate statistics as well as a survivor story about Pua Kaninau, a SPAN USA Community & Quilt Organizer from Hawaii. Click here to view the summary of research conducted by Research!America. - Suicide: Fact Sheet
Statistics and information about suicide from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - In Harm's Way: Suicide in America
A brief description of scientific knowledge about suicide from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - Frequently Asked Questions about Suicide
Basic questions with comprehensive answers from NIMH - Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide
- Suicide - Warning Signs
There are many other resources on our website that are helpful when learning about suicide, including:
- Suicide within specific populations.;
- Other resources and statistics on suicide;
- How public policies that might prevent suicide; and
- How you can be active in suicide prevention in your community.
REFERENCES
- Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Anderson RN, Scott C. Deaths: Final data for 2002. National vital statistics reports; vol 53 no 5. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 2004.
- Moscicki EK. Epidemiology of completed and attempted suicide: toward a framework for prevention. Clinical Neuroscience Research , 2001; 1: 310-23.
- Conwell Y, Brent D. Suicide and aging. I: patterns of psychiatric diagnosis. International Psychogeriatrics , 1995; 7(2): 149-64.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web0based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) : www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars