As suicide rates in the United States continue to grow, new official data suggests that older males have become the most vulnerable.
Researchers from the United States released a paper on Wednesday. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there will be around 30 suicide fatalities for every 100,000 males aged 55 and over in 2021. That figure is more than double the general average of slightly more than 14 suicide deaths per 100,000 individuals that year.
The older a man becomes, the more likely he is to commit suicide. Those 85 and older had 56 suicide fatalities per 100,000 people, more than any other age group.
Suicide is complicated, according to Dr. Yeates Conwell, a psychiatric professor at the University of Rochester.
Suicide risk may be fueled by five elements: despair, sickness, disability, disconnection, and lethal methods, and these risk factors may be “relatively more salient for older adults,” he added.
“Consider a Venn diagram with these five circles, each representing one of those ‘Ds’ that overlap.” “The more intersecting circles one is in, the greater the risk,” said Conwell, who also runs the university’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide and leads a geriatric psychiatry program.
He noted that the combination of increased physical disease and incapacity, as well as increased social isolation and loss, makes older people more prone to suicide.
Nonetheless, elderly women appear to be less suicidal than their male counterparts.
While the suicide rate among older women has climbed in the last two decades, it remains far lower than the rate among older males. According to the latest estimate, there would be around 6 suicide fatalities for every 100,000 women aged 55 and over in 2021.
Experts believe that firearms are fueling this gender disparity.
More than half of all suicides include weapons, but firearms are an even more popular technique among older men, accounting for at least three-quarters of all suicides among males 65 and older in 2021, according to the paper.
According to a Pew Research Center poll, males are more likely than women to own a gun, and seniors are more likely to have a gun in the home. Not only that, but virtually all suicide attempts using firearms end in death, making them the most devastating method of suicide.
Men had “greater comfort with and access to firearms,” according to Conwell, perhaps due to military training or hunting experience.
However, men are more prone to a less tangible aspect, according to Conwell.
“Older men in our society tend not to have the skills to develop and maintain close relationships with as many other people as do women in our culture,” he went on to say. “Too much identity is tied up in one’s work, and that is lost [after retirement].” And then there’s the cultural script of what maleness means in our culture, so males just won’t accept or receive help for depression because it’s not something a man does.”
Suicide is death induced by intentionally harming oneself in order to die. A suicide attempt occurs when someone causes injury to themselves with the purpose of ending their life but does not die as a result of their actions.
Many variables can either enhance or decrease the chance of suicide. Suicide is linked to various types of harm and violence. People who have suffered violence, such as child abuse, bullying, or sexual assault, are more likely to commit suicide. Suicidal thoughts and actions can be reduced by being linked to family and community support and having easy access to healthcare.
Suicide rates climbed by 36% between 2000 and 2021. In 2021, suicide was responsible for 48,183 fatalities, or approximately one death every 11 minutes. Even more people are contemplating or attempting suicide. An estimated 12.3 million American people seriously considered suicide in 2021, with 3.5 million planning a suicide attempt and 1.7 million attempting suicide.
People of various ages are affected by suicide. Suicide was one of the top nine primary causes of death for persons aged 10 to 64 in 2021. Suicide was the second-greatest cause of mortality in the 10–14 and 20–34 age groups.
Some populations have a greater rate of suicide than others. Suicide rates differ depending on race or ethnicity, age, and other factors such as location. Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native people have the highest rates of suicide, followed by non-Hispanic white people. Other Americans with higher-than-average rates of suicide include veterans, people who live in rural areas, and workers in certain industries and occupations, such as mining and construction. Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual have a higher prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors compared to their peers.
Suicide and suicide attempts have substantial emotional, physical, and financial consequences. Suicide attempters who live may have catastrophic injuries that have long-term consequences for their health. They may also suffer from depression and other mental health issues.
Suicide and suicide attempts have a negative impact on the health and well-being of friends, loved ones, coworkers, and the community as a whole. When someone commits suicide, their surviving relatives and friends may endure protracted sorrow, shock, anger, guilt, melancholy or anxiety symptoms, and even suicidal thoughts.
