Suicide epidemiology and demographics

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Suicide Microchapters

Home

Patient Information

Overview

Classification

Epidemiology and Demographics

Risk Factors

Screening

Physical Examination

Laboratory Findings

Psychiatric evaluation

Treatment

Medical Therapy

Psychotherapy

Pharmacotherapy

Prevention

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Iqra Qamar M.D.[2]

Overview

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among all children and adolescents in the United States. In the United States, the incidence rate of suicide among children aged 5 to 11 years was 1 per 1 million, between 2008 and 2012. Among adolescents, the suicide rate is highest for white males.

Epidemiology and Demographics

Prevalence

  • Suicide is the third leading cause of death among all children and adolescents in the United States.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
  • During the time period of 1960s and the 1990s, suicide rates doubled in the 15- to 19-year age group and tripled in the 10- to 14-year age group, in the United States.[7][8]
  • Survey data from the United States in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007 found that about 7 to 9% of all adolescents attempted suicide in the 12 months before the survey.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Age

  • In the United States, the incidence rate of suicide among children aged 5 to 11 years was 1 per 1 million, between 2008 and 2012.[15][16][17][18][19]

Sex

  • The rate of suicidal ideation is greater in high school girls than boys (21 to 31% versus 13 to 20%)[11]
  • Suicide attempts are also more common in adolescent girls than boys[12]
  • Adolescent boys are more likely to complete suicide than girls[20][21]

Race/ethnicity

  • The suicide rates are variable among different ethnic groups[22]
  • Among adolescents, the suicide rate is highest for white males[14]
  • During 1980 and 1996, the suicide rate increased most rapidly among black males ages 15 to 19 years (from 3.6 to 8.1 per 100,000)

National suicide rates sometimes tend to remain stable. For example, the 1975 rates for Australia, Denmark, England, France, Norway, and Switzerland were within 3.0 per 100,000 of population from the 1875 rates.[23] The rates in 1910–14 and in 1960 differed less than 2.5 per 100,000 of the population in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, England and Wales, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands.[24]

Suicides per 100,000 people per year[25]
Rank Country Males Females Total Year
1 Lithuania 70.1 14.0 40.2 2004
2 Belarus 63.3 10.3 35.1 2003
3 Russia 61.6 10.7 34.3 2004
4 Kazakhstan 51.0 8.9 29.2 2003
5 Hungary 44.9 12.0 27.7 2003
6 Guyana 42.5 12.1 27.2 2003
7 South Korea[26][27] N/A N/A 26.1 2005
8 Slovenia 37.9 13.9 25.6 2004
9 Latvia 42.9 8.5 24.3 2004
10 Japan 35.6 12.8 24.0 2004

There are considerable differences in national suicide rates among various countries. Findings from two studies showed a range from 0 to more than 40 suicides per 100,000 of population.[28]

National suicide rates, apparently universally, show a long-term upward trend. This trend has been well-documented in European countries.[29] The trend for national suicide rates to rise slowly over time might be an indirect result of the gradual reduction in deaths from other causes, i.e. falling death rates from causes other than suicide uncover a previously hidden predisposition towards suicide.[30][31] There may also be an explanation in the reduced stigma attached to survivors as suicide is no longer considered a crime or a sin. This may allow coroners to record more suicides as such and so increase stats.

Ethnic groups and suicide: In the USA, Asian-Americans are more likely to die by suicide than any other ethnic group. Caucasians die by suicide more often than African Americans do. This is true for both genders. Non-Hispanic Caucasians are nearly 2.5 times more likely to kill themselves than are African Americans or Hispanics.[32]

.

Season and suicide: People die by suicide more often during spring and summer. The idea that suicide is more common during the winter holidays (including Christmas in the northern hemisphere) is a common misconception.[33] There is also potential risk of suicide in some people experiencing Seasonal affective disorder.

References

  1. Beautrais AL (October 2001). "Child and young adolescent suicide in New Zealand". Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 35 (5): 647–53. doi:10.1080/0004867010060514. PMID 11551281.
  2. McClure GM (May 2001). "Suicide in children and adolescents in England and Wales 1970-1998". Br J Psychiatry. 178: 469–74. PMID 11331565.
  3. Hawton K, Fagg J, Simkin S, Bale E, Bond A (February 2000). "Deliberate self-harm in adolescents in Oxford, 1985-1995". J Adolesc. 23 (1): 47–55. doi:10.1006/jado.1999.0290. PMID 10700371.
  4. "Suicide among children, adolescents, and young adults--United States, 1980-1992". MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 44 (15): 289–91. April 1995. PMID 7708038.
  5. Hamilton BE, Miniño AM, Martin JA, Kochanek KD, Strobino DM, Guyer B (February 2007). "Annual summary of vital statistics: 2005". Pediatrics. 119 (2): 345–60. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-3226. PMID 17272625.
  6. Shain BN (September 2007). "Suicide and suicide attempts in adolescents". Pediatrics. 120 (3): 669–76. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-1908. PMID 17766542.
  7. Brent DA, Perper JA, Allman CJ (June 1987). "Alcohol, firearms, and suicide among youth. Temporal trends in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 1960 to 1983". JAMA. 257 (24): 3369–72. PMID 3586265.
  8. Brent DA, Perper JA, Allman CJ, Moritz GM, Wartella ME, Zelenak JP (December 1991). "The presence and accessibility of firearms in the homes of adolescent suicides. A case-control study". JAMA. 266 (21): 2989–95. PMID 1820470.
  9. Martin JA, Kung HC, Mathews TJ, Hoyert DL, Strobino DM, Guyer B, Sutton SR (April 2008). "Annual summary of vital statistics: 2006". Pediatrics. 121 (4): 788–801. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-3753. PMID 18381544.
  10. Kochanek KD, Kirmeyer SE, Martin JA, Strobino DM, Guyer B (February 2012). "Annual summary of vital statistics: 2009". Pediatrics. 129 (2): 338–48. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-3435. PMC 4079290. PMID 22291121.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Grunbaum JA, Kann L, Kinchen SA, Williams B, Ross JG, Lowry R, Kolbe L (June 2002). "Youth risk behavior surveillance--United States, 2001". MMWR Surveill Summ. 51 (4): 1–62. PMID 12102329.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Grunbaum JA, Kann L, Kinchen S, Ross J, Hawkins J, Lowry R, Harris WA, McManus T, Chyen D, Collins J (May 2004). "Youth risk behavior surveillance--United States, 2003". MMWR Surveill Summ. 53 (2): 1–96. PMID 15152182.
  13. Eaton DK, Kann L, Kinchen S, Ross J, Hawkins J, Harris WA, Lowry R, McManus T, Chyen D, Shanklin S, Lim C, Grunbaum JA, Wechsler H (June 2006). "Youth risk behavior surveillance--United States, 2005". MMWR Surveill Summ. 55 (5): 1–108. PMID 16760893.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Eaton DK, Kann L, Kinchen S, Shanklin S, Ross J, Hawkins J, Harris WA, Lowry R, McManus T, Chyen D, Lim C, Brener ND, Wechsler H (June 2008). "Youth risk behavior surveillance--United States, 2007". MMWR Surveill Summ. 57 (4): 1–131. PMID 18528314.
  15. Tishler CL, Reiss NS, Rhodes AR (September 2007). "Suicidal behavior in children younger than twelve: a diagnostic challenge for emergency department personnel". Acad Emerg Med. 14 (9): 810–8. doi:10.1197/j.aem.2007.05.014. PMID 17726127.
  16. Doshi A, Boudreaux ED, Wang N, Pelletier AJ, Camargo CA (October 2005). "National study of US emergency department visits for attempted suicide and self-inflicted injury, 1997-2001". Ann Emerg Med. 46 (4): 369–75. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2005.04.018. PMID 16183394.
  17. Bridge JA, Asti L, Horowitz LM, Greenhouse JB, Fontanella CA, Sheftall AH, Kelleher KJ, Campo JV (July 2015). "Suicide Trends Among Elementary School-Aged Children in the United States From 1993 to 2012". JAMA Pediatr. 169 (7): 673–7. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0465. PMID 25984947.
  18. Shaffer D, Gould MS, Fisher P, Trautman P, Moreau D, Kleinman M, Flory M (April 1996). "Psychiatric diagnosis in child and adolescent suicide". Arch. Gen. Psychiatry. 53 (4): 339–48. PMID 8634012.
  19. Grøholt B, Ekeberg O, Wichstrøm L, Haldorsen T (May 1998). "Suicide among children and younger and older adolescents in Norway: a comparative study". J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 37 (5): 473–81. doi:10.1097/00004583-199805000-00008. PMID 9585647.
  20. Grunbaum JA, Kann L, Kinchen SA, Ross JG, Gowda VR, Collins JL, Kolbe LJ (January 2000). "Youth risk behavior surveillance. National Alternative High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 1998". J Sch Health. 70 (1): 5–17. PMID 10697808.
  21. "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: National College Health Risk Behavior Survey--United States, 1995". MMWR CDC Surveill Summ. 46 (6): 1–56. November 1997. PMID 9393659.
  22. "Suicide among black youths--United States, 1980-1995". MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 47 (10): 193–6. March 1998. PMID 9531022.
  23. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1983; Lester, Patterns, 1996, p. 21
  24. Lester, Patterns, 1996, p. 22
  25. Country reports and charts available, World Health Organization, accessed on March 16 2008.
  26. Suicide in South Korea Case of Too Little, Too Late, OhmyNews KOREA
  27. S. Korea has top suicide rate among OECD countries, Seoul, September 18, 2006 Yonhap News
  28. La Vecchia, C., Lucchini, F., & Levi, F. (1994) Worldwide trends in suicide mortality, 1955-1989. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 90, 53-64.; Lester, Patterns, 1996, pp. 28-30.
  29. Lester, Patterns, 1996, p. 2.
  30. Baldessarini, R. J., & Jamison, K. R. (1999) Effects of medical interventions on suicidal behavior. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 60 (Suppl. 2), 117-122.
  31. Khan, A., Warner, H. A., & Brown, W. A. (2000) Symptom reduction and suicide risk in patients treated with placebo in antidepressant clinical trials. Archives of General Psychiatry, 57, 311-317.
  32. Template:PDFlink
  33. "Questions About Suicide". Centre For Suicide Prevention. 2006.

Template:WH Template:WS