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Suicide in Older Adults: A Quiet Epidemic

Although most older adults report higher levels of well-being and greater meaning in life than their younger counterparts, late-life suicide remains a pressing public health concern...

Suicide in later life is a complex phenomenon that is likely driven by multiple determinants. As such, it will take a commitment across health care and social service systems to systematically improve detection and intervention to prevent suicide deaths.

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Featured

 Elder Suicide: A Needless Tragedy

At the threshold of older adulthood, thoughts often turn to satisfaction in the past and confidence— emotionally, financially, and socially—in the life events yet to unfold. Unfortunately, for some older adults, such satisfaction and confidence are elusive or nonexistent. And in the face of hopelessness in the prospects for a satisfying future, some older adults choose to end their lives prematurely.

 For Older People, Despair, as Well as Covid-19, Is Costing Lives

Even before the pandemic, the numbers of suicides by elders in care facilities were climbing, as a six-month investigation by PBS NewsHour and Kaiser Health News recently reported. And now things are worse — much worse.

 Late-life suicide in an aging world

Suicide is an important problem among older adults and in particular older men. Risk factors for suicide in older adults include the loss of a loved one, loneliness and physical illness. Suicide in older adults is often attributed to the development of depression due to bereavement or loss of physical health and independence. However, suicide prevention in old age requires avoiding overly simplistic therapeutic approaches.

 Naomi Judd’s death and the unique mental health challenges older adults face

How to start conversations about mental health with the older adults in your life.

 The dramatic drop in suicide among elderly Britons

Old people now have one of the lowest rates, a rarity in the rich world.

Articles of Interest

Elderly men have the highest suicide rate – and ageism stops us from doing something about it

This is the common theme worldwide. Most countries record their peak suicide rates in this group. So why has the problem of suicide in older males not been an issue of concern for the general public?

Elderly Suicide: The Risks, Detection, And How To Help

While older adults only account for 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for 18 percent of suicide deaths, according to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT).

Elderly White Men Afflicted by High Suicide Rates

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.

Forget me not: preventing suicide among the elderly

With public attention firmly focused on the increase in the suicide rate among people under the age of 35 in the last 20 years, few people are aware that those aged 75 years and over, particularly males, remain at very high risk.

Isolated And Struggling, Many Seniors Are Turning To Suicide

Research has found that one out of four senior citizens that attempt suicide dies, compared to one out of 200 attempts for young adults. While the precise reasons for these figures remain unclear, experts suggest seniors are frailer and thus more vulnerable to self-inflicted injury. They can also be more isolated, which makes rescues more difficult, and perhaps even plan their attempts more carefully.

Nearly one-third of suicides in China are by old people

It can be lonely when your child has moved to a city

Older Adults At Greatest Risk For Suicide

Many associate suicide with young people, like troubled teens or twentysomethings who never quite got their lives off the ground. In fact, it is much more common among older adults. According to new figures just released this week from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the highest rate of suicides in America is among people age 45 to 64.

Preventing suicide among the elderly

Suicide is more common among older Americans than any other age group. The statistics are daunting. While people 65 and older account for 12 percent of the population, they represent 16 percent to 25 percent of the suicides. Four out of five suicides in older adults are men.

Suicide on the rise among older men

The number of suicides and the prevalence of suicidal tendencies is rising faster among older men than in any other age group...

Resources

Suicide Prevention Resource Center

Suicide is an important problem among older adults. Suicide rates are particularly high among older men, with men ages 85 and older having the highest rate of any group in the country. Suicide attempts by older adults are much more likely to result in death than among younger persons.