CDC Grand Rounds: Preventing Suicide Through a Comprehensive Public Health Approach.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Descriptive national vital statistics surveillance data
PubMed 27584004 · doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6534a2
What was done
Descriptive analysis of US national suicide mortality data assessing trends between 2000 and 2014 among persons aged >10 years, broken down by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
What was found
Approximately 42,000 suicides were reported in 2014 among persons aged >10 years. The overall suicide rate rose 27% from 12.1 per 100,000 in 2000 to 15.4 per 100,000 in 2014. In 2014, male suicide rates (24.3 per 100,000) were roughly four times higher than female rates (6.8 per 100,000). Suicide was the second leading cause of death for ages 10–34 years. For youth aged 10–24 years, rates were highest among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives (20.2 per 100,000), which was 1.9 times higher than non-Hispanic whites (10.5 per 100,000), 3.5 times higher than non-Hispanic blacks (5.8 per 100,000), and 3.7 times higher than Hispanics (5.5 per 100,000). Suicide rates among adults aged 35–64 years increased 33% since 2000, accounting for the largest total share of suicides.
Why it matters
Highlights substantial national increases in suicide mortality across distinct demographic groups to identify emerging at-risk populations for public health targeting.
Limits
The abstract contains descriptive mortality statistics without evaluating causal factors, specific interventions, or non-fatal suicide attempts. Surveillance data rely on death certificate classifications, which may suffer from underreporting or misclassification.
Cited by
- supports Male suicide rates are four times higher than female suicide rates.