Suicide in the United States

Suicide is a major national public health issue in the United States. The country has one of the highest suicide rates among wealthy nations.^[1] In 2020, there were 45,799 recorded suicides,^[2] up from 42,773 in 2014, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).^[3][4][5] On average, adjusted for age, the annual U.S. suicide rate increased 30% between 2000 and 2020, from 10.4 to 13.5 suicides per 100,000 people.^[6] In 2018, 14.2 people per 100,000 died by suicide, the highest rate recorded in more than 30 years.^[7][8] Due to the stigma surrounding suicide, it is suspected that suicide is generally underreported.^[9] In April 2016, the CDC released data showing that the suicide rate in the United States had hit a 30-year high,^[10][11] and later in June 2018, released further data showing that the rate has continued to increase and has increased in every U.S. state except Nevada since 1999.^[12][13] From 2000 to 2020, more than 800,000 people died by suicide in the United States, with males representing 78.7% of all suicides that happened between 2000 and 2020.^[2] In 2022, a record high 49,500 people died by suicide,^[14] while the suicide rate in 2022 reached its highest level since 1941 at 14.3 per 100,000 persons.^[15] Surging death rates from suicide, drug overdoses and alcoholism, what researchers refer to as "deaths of despair", are largely responsible for a consecutive three year decline of life expectancy in the U.S.^{[16][17][18][19]} This constitutes the first three-year drop in life expectancy in the U.S. since the years 1915–1918.^[18]

In 2015, suicide was the seventh leading cause of death for males and the 14th leading cause of death for females.^[20] Additionally, it was the second leading cause of death for young people aged 10 to 34.^[21] From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans aged 35 to 64 increased nearly 30 percent. The largest increases were among women aged 60 to 64, with rates rising 60 percent, then men in their fifties, with rates rising nearly 50 percent.^[8] In 2008, it was observed that U.S. suicide rates, particularly among middle-aged white women, had increased, although the causes were unclear.^[22] As of 2018, about 1.7 percent of all deaths were suicides.^[2]

The U.S. government seeks to prevent suicides through its National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a collaborative effort of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Indian Health Service.^[23] Their plan consists of eleven goals aimed at preventing suicides.^[24] Older adults are disproportionately likely to die by suicide.^[25] Some U.S. jurisdictions have laws against suicide or against assisting suicide. In recent years, there has been increased interest in rethinking these laws.^[26]

Suicide has been associated with tough economic conditions, including unemployment rate.^[27]

There are significant variations in the suicide rates of the different states,^[28] ranging from 28.89 per 100,000 people in Montana to 8.11 per 100,000 people in New York.^[9]

A firearm is used in approximately half of suicides, accounting for two-thirds of all firearm deaths.^[29] Firearms were used in 56.9% of suicides among males in 2016, making it the most commonly used method by them.^[20]

On July 16, 2022, the United States transitioned the National Suicide Hotline from the former 10-digit number into the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, linking both the National Suicide Hotline, the Veterans Crisis Line, and a network of more than 200 state and local call centers run through SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.^[30]