Suicide Facts

•In America, a person dies by suicide every 16.minutes and 88 suicides
per day

•More than 31, 000 Americans die by suicide each year

•Suicide is the:
-11th leading cause of death overall in America
-3rd leading cause of death for young Americans between the ages of 10 to 24
-2nd leading cause of death for American college-aged students
-2nd leading cause of death for those aged 25-34

• There are an estimated 1.4 million attempts per year in the U.S.

•It has been suggested that there are now at least 4.5 million American survivors of suicide

•More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have depression or another diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder.

•20% of all suicide deaths occur among veterans.

•More women attempt suicide, more men die by suicide.

•Older white men have the highest suicide rate of all age groups.

•Medical doctors have one of the highest suicide rates of any professionals in the United States. Suicide rates among male doctors is 40 percent higher than among men in general. The rate among female doctors is 130 percent hgher than among all women.

•24 soldiers killed themselves in Iraq since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom ( as of 3/26/2004) Additional cases that appear to be suicide are under investigation.

• Elderly adults have rates of suicide close to 50% higher than that of the nation as a whole (all ages)

• Over half of all suicides occur in adult men, aged 25-65

• Youth suicides in juvenile detention and correctional facilities are more than four times greater than youth suicides

• Many who make suicide attempts never seek professional care immediately after the attempt

• Research indicates that alterations in neurotransmitters such as serotonin are associated with the risk for suicide