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Increase in older adult suicides may be attributed to financial crises

Suicide rates among adults aged between 40 to 64 years has increased 40% since 1999, new study data suggest. The economic decline between 2007 and 2009 may account for this increase, according to researchers.

They also found that a larger proportion of middle-aged suicides are completed using suffocation.

Julie A. Phillips

Katherine A. Hempstead, PhD, Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ, and Julie A. Phillips, PhD, of the department of sociology at Rutgers University, categorized suicide circumstances into three groups: personal, interpersonal and external.

Data culled from the National Violent Death Reporting System indicated that personal circumstances (ie, mental health) were attributable to 81% of all suicides among those aged 40 to 64 years between 2005 and 2010.

Women were most likely to have a recorded current mental health issue (66.4%) compared with men (42.1%), according to data.

They also found that interpersonal circumstances, including partner problems, accounted for 42% of suicides among men and 37% of suicides among women.

One-third of all suicides were attributed to external circumstances among men (39.1%) and women (22.8%), the researchers wrote.

The prevalence of suicides due to external circumstances increased from 33% in 2005 to 37.5% in 2010, with a notable increase after 2007, according to data.

Trends in suicide methods show that suffocation suicides increased by 18% among those aged 15 to 39 years; 27.2% for those aged 65 years and older; and 59.5% for those aged 40 to 64 years.

“Increasing access to crisis counseling and other mental health services on an emergency basis, as is often provided at times of natural disaster, should also be considered in the context of economic crises,” researchers concluded. – by Samantha Costa

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.