Mental Health Problems - Depression

Depression and Suicide

Virginia J. Duffy PhD NPP

Most people with depression do not commit suicide, however depression (especially untreated) increases the risk of suicide.

It is not uncommon for depressed individuals to have thoughts about suicide whether or not they intend to act on these thoughts.

Almost all people who intentionally kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder with or without substance abuse. Alcohol is often thought to be self-treatment for depression.

A very interesting consistent finding is that approximately two thirds of individuals who complete suicide have seen a physician within a month of their death.

Some Other Important Suicide Facts

Suicide took the lives of 30,622 people in 2001 (CDC 2004).
Suicide rates are generally higher in the western states and lower in the eastern and Midwestern states (CDC 1997).
In 2001, 55% of suicides were committed with a firearm (Anderson and Smith 2003).
Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than females (CDC 2004).
Suicide rates are highest among Whites and second highest among American Indian and Native Alaskan men (CDC 2004).
In 2001, 60% of the suicides by men involved the use of a firearm (Anderson and Smith 2003).
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24. (Anderson and Smith 2003).
Of the total number of suicides among ages 15 to 24 in 2001, 86% were male and 14% were female. Firearms were used 54% of the time. (Anderson and Smith 2003).
American Indian and Alaskan Natives have the highest rate of suicide in the 15 to 24 age group (CDC 2004).
In 2001, 5,393 Americans over age 65 committed suicide. Of those, 85% were men and 15% were women (CDC 2004).
Firearms were used in 73% of suicides committed by adults over the age of 65 in 2001 (CDC 2004).

Demographics and risk factors that increase the chance of suicide.

The more factors a person has from the following list, the more they are considered a suicide risk.

White male
Over the age of 45 (risk increases even further over the age of 65)
Separated, widowed, or divorced
Recent loss (relationship, job, money, status)
Access to a gun
Hallucinations telling the person to kill himself or herself
Under the influence of drugs or alcohol
Chronic illness or pain
Family history of suicide
Lack of social support
Suicide note or recent will

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