I'm just playing the "Devil's Advocate". Are most of these people Democrats?
Elderly White Men Afflicted by High Suicide Rates
U.S. Medical System Often Not Set Up to Detect Depression in the Aging
by Sandra Yin
(August 2006) In June, the body of Philip Merrill, a Maryland-based publisher and philanthropist who had donated tens of millions of dollars to his favorite causes and served on many high-profile diplomatic and intelligence assignments, was found in the Chesapeake Bay. An autopsy confirmed that Merrill, age 72, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 1
Merrill—lauded at his memorial service as a vibrant man with a passion for life—was one of 31,000 people a year in the United States who die by suicide. 2 He was also one of a group associated with a substantially higher risk of suicide than any other—older white males.
While suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, with 11 suicide deaths per 100,000 Americans, white men over the age of 65 commit suicide at almost triple that overall rate. 3 These men are also eight times more likely to kill themselves than are women of the same age group, and have almost twice the rate of all other groups of male contemporaries (see Figure 1). 4
Figure 1
Death Rates for Suicide by Age and Sex, 2003
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2005.
Analysts are divided over how to explain the elevated risk of suicide for older white men. Some researchers point to a lack of resilience or coping ability. Others point to men's choice of more lethal means of suicide. More generally, systemic obstacles related to the primary care system (as well as cultural bias that assumes depression is a natural feature of aging) also inhibit detection of older people at risk of suicide.
While more research is needed to determine why some groups who are at-risk for suicide actually attempt it more than others, possible prevention interventions, include:
- Public-health campaigns to help people recognize risk factors or symptoms; and
- Better detection and treatment of people at risk of suicide in late life, including more training for primary-health providers who are likely to come into contact with elderly at-risk individuals.
Grim Comparisons by Sex, Race, and Ethnicity
Overall, three times as many women as men in the United States report a history of attempted suicide. 5 But men are four times more likely to actually kill themselves. 6 Choice of method may play a role in explaining this gender disparity: White men tend to use more violent and more lethal means than other suicide victims. In 2001, 73 percent of all suicide deaths and 80 percent of all firearm suicide deaths were white males. 7
Disparities along ethnic lines for elderly males are also substantial. Compared with white males ages 65 and older, African American males (9.2 suicides per 100,000), Hispanic or Latino males (15.6), and Asian or Pacific Islander males (17.5) in the same age range had significantly lower suicide rates (see Figure 2).
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2006/ElderlyWhiteMenAfflictedbyHighSuicideRates.aspx (for the whole story) _____________________________________
| September 7, 2007 / 56(35);905-908 |
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Suicide Trends Among Youths and Young Adults Aged 10--24 Years --- United States, 1990--2004In 2004, suicide was the third leading cause of death among youths and young adults aged 10--24 years in the United States, accounting for 4,599 deaths (1,2). During 1990--2003, the combined suicide rate for persons aged 10--24 years declined 28.5%, from 9.48 to 6.78 per 100,000 persons (2). However, from 2003 to 2004, the rate increased by 8.0%, from 6.78 to 7.32 (2), the largest single-year increase during 1990--2004. To characterize U.S. trends in suicide among persons aged 10--24 years, CDC analyzed data recorded during 1990--2004, the most recent data available. Results of that analysis indicated that, from 2003 to 2004, suicide rates for three sex-age groups (i.e., females aged 10--14 years and 15--19 years and males aged 15--19 years) departed upward significantly from otherwise declining trends. Results further indicated that suicides both by hanging/suffocation and poisoning among females aged 10--14 years and 15--19 years increased from 2003 to 2004 and were significantly in excess of trends in both groups. The results suggest that increases in suicide and changes in suicidal behavior might have occurred among youths in certain sex-age groups, especially females aged 10--19 years. Closer examination of these trends is warranted at federal and state levels. Where indicated, health authorities and program directors should consider focusing suicide-prevention activities on these groups to help prevent suicide rates from increasing further. Annual data on suicides in the United States during 1990--2004 (1) were obtained from the National Vital Statistic http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5635a2.htm ________________________________ Suicide Epidemic Among VeteransA CBS News Investigation Uncovers A Suicide Rate For Veterans Twice That Of Other AmericansNEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2007    1 | 2 Now that their son Jeff is gone, Kevin and Joyce Lucey are speaking out about hus suicide. (CBS)   Vets' Suicide EpidemicA five-month investigation found vets were more than twice as likely to take their own lives than Americans who never served. Armen Keteyian reports. | Share
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