What is the impact of suicide?
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US
Important Statistics
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2014, suicide was the second leading cause of death for young people ages 10–24. Although these numbers may make suicide seem common, it is still a rare event. Suicidal thoughts or behaviors are more common than suicide deaths and are signs of extreme distress. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are not harmless bids for attention and should not be ignored.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2017 there were more than twice as many suicides (47,173) in the United States as there were homicides (19,510).
· The age-adjusted suicide rate in 2017 was 14.0 years of age per 100,000 individuals
· The rate of suicide is highest in middle-aged white men in particular
· In 2017, men died by suicide 3.54 times more often than women
· On average, there are 129 suicides per day
· White males accounted for 69.67% of suicide deaths in 2017
· In 2017, firearms accounted for 50.57% of all suicide deaths.
Demographics
Because suicide rates take population size into account, they can be a useful tool for understanding the relative proportion of people affected within different demographic groups.
#2
cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34
#4
cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54
· Among females, the suicide rate was highest for those aged 45-54 (10.0 per 100,000).
· The suicide rate among males remained nearly four times higher (22.4 per 100,000 in 2017) than among females (6.1 per 100,000 in 201Among males, the suicide rate was highest for those aged 65 and older (31.0 per 100,000).
Trends Over Time
Suicide rate is based on the number of people who have died by suicide per 100,000 population. Because changes in population size are taken into account, rates allow for comparisons from one year to the next.
· From 2001 through 2017, the total suicide rate increased 31% from 10.7 to 14.0 per 100,000.
· The suicide rate among males remained nearly four times higher (22.4 per 100,000 in 2017) than among females (6.1 per 100,000 in 2017).
Number of Suicide Deaths by Method
• In 2017, firearms were the most common method used in suicide deaths in the United States, accounting for almost half of all suicide deaths (23,854).
• Among males, the most common method of suicide was firearm (56.0%). Among females, the most common methods of suicide were poisoning (31.4%) and firearm (31.2%).
Suicide in Brazos Valley
The Brazos Valley Coalition on Suicide Prevention works with dozens of individuals in our community each year who have been personally impacted by suicide .
These include parents who have lost children to suicide; teenagers who have lost a parent or friend to suicide; Husbands & wives who have lost spouses to suicide; Veterans who have lost comrades to suicide; and university students who have lost peers, friends, and loved ones to the horrors of suicide.
Each year, BVCOSP is able to successfully assist many individuals in our community who themselves are struggling with depression, PTSD, anxiety, suicide ideation, loneliness, and a wide array of mental health & loss issues. In addition, through the intervention efforts of BVCOSP members there are a number of individuals each year in the Brazos Valley who were seriously contemplating suicide but with our help, were able to recover and are alive and well today as a result.
