Mental Health First Aid

Suicide is preventable and you can help

Nearly 40,000 people in the United States die from suicide annually, or 1 person every 13 minutes. This exceeds the rate of death from homicide and AIDS combined. More people die by suicide than from automobile accidents.

The suicide rate has been rising over the past decade, with much of the increase driven by suicides in mid-life, where the majority of all suicides in the United States now occur. From 1999 to 2013, the age-adjusted suicide rate for all ages in the United States increased (10.5% to 13.5%). Half of these deaths occur by use of a firearm.

Of all the death attributed to suicide in 2013, 78% of those are male. In 2013, the latest year for which data is available,

• the highest number of suicides among both men and women occurred among those aged 45 to 54. 
• highest rates of suicides (suicides per 100,000) occurred among men aged 75 and up and among women aged 45 to 54. 
• Suicide was the second leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24 and for those aged 25 to 34.