Firearms and explosives (although mostly firearms) have been the most common method of death by suicide since the early 1900s. Poisoning was generally the second-most common method, although there were some years where there were more suicide deaths due to hanging or strangulation. In this period, the suicide rate peaked in the early-1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, with almost 20,000 deaths by suicide in 1932 alone. Although the total number of deaths by suicide in the given period was highest in 1970, it is important to note that the U.S. population grew significantly during the 20th century and the suicide rate at this time was much lower than in the 1930s. Additionally, records were generally less reliable in early years, therefore many suicides may have gone unrecorded, may have been miscategorized as homicide or natural death, or miscategorized by method.

In 2022, over half of all suicides among males in the U.S. were conducted by the use of firearms. The death rate for suicide in the U.S. for males is consistently higher than that of females. This statistic shows the distribution of deaths from suicide in the United States during 2022, sorted by method of suicide.

In 2023, just over half of all suicides in the U.S. were conducted by the use of firearms. That year, there were 27,300 suicide deaths involving firearms. This statistic shows the number of deaths from suicide in the United States during 2023, sorted by method of suicide.

BackgroundIn Europe, men have lower rates of attempted suicide compared to women and at the same time a higher rate of completed suicides, indicating major gender differences in lethality of suicidal behaviour. The aim of this study was to analyse the extent to which these gender differences in lethality can be explained by factors such as choice of more lethal methods or lethality differences within the same suicide method or age. In addition, we explored gender differences in the intentionality of suicide attempts.Methods and FindingsMethods. Design: Epidemiological study using a combination of self-report and official data. Setting: Mental health care services in four European countries: Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and Portugal. Data basis: Completed suicides derived from official statistics for each country (767 acts, 74.4% male) and assessed suicide attempts excluding habitual intentional self-harm (8,175 acts, 43.2% male).Main Outcome Measures and Data Analysis. We collected data on suicidal acts in eight regions of four European countries participating in the EU-funded “OSPI-Europe”-project (www.ospi-europe.com). We calculated method-specific lethality using the number of completed suicides per method * 100 / (number of completed suicides per method + number of attempted suicides per method). We tested gender differences in the distribution of suicidal acts for significance by using the χ2-test for two-by-two tables. We assessed the effect sizes with phi coefficients (φ). We identified predictors of lethality with a binary logistic regression analysis. Poisson regression analysis examined the contribution of choice of methods and method-specific lethality to gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts.Findings Main ResultsSuicidal acts (fatal and non-fatal) were 3.4 times more lethal in men than in women (lethality 13.91% (regarding 4106 suicidal acts) versus 4.05% (regarding 4836 suicidal acts)), the difference being significant for the methods hanging, jumping, moving objects, sharp objects and poisoning by substances other than drugs. Median age at time of suicidal behaviour (35–44 years) did not differ between males and females. The overall gender difference in lethality of suicidal behaviour was explained by males choosing more lethal suicide methods (odds ratio (OR) = 2.03; 95% CI = 1.65 to 2.50; p < 0.000001) and additionally, but to a lesser degree, by a higher lethality of suicidal acts for males even within the same method (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.32 to 2.02; p = 0.000005). Results of a regression analysis revealed neither age nor country differences were significant predictors for gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts. The proportion of serious suicide attempts among all non-fatal suicidal acts with known intentionality (NFSAi) was significantly higher in men (57.1%; 1,207 of 2,115 NFSAi) than in women (48.6%; 1,508 of 3,100 NFSAi) (χ2 = 35.74; p < 0.000001).Main limitations of the studyDue to restrictive data security regulations to ensure anonymity in Ireland, specific ages could not be provided because of the relatively low absolute numbers of suicide in the Irish intervention and control region. Therefore, analyses of the interaction between gender and age could only be conducted for three of the four countries. Attempted suicides were assessed for patients presenting to emergency departments or treated in hospitals. An unknown rate of attempted suicides remained undetected. This may have caused an overestimation of the lethality of certain methods. Moreover, the detection of attempted suicides and the registration of completed suicides might have differed across the four countries. Some suicides might be hidden and misclassified as undetermined deaths.ConclusionsMen more often used highly lethal methods in suicidal behaviour, but there was also a higher method-specific lethality which together explained the large gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts. Gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts were fairly consistent across all four European countries examined. Males and females did not differ in age at time of suicidal behaviour. Suicide attempts by males were rated as being more serious independent of the method used, with the exceptions of attempted hanging, suggesting gender differences in intentionality associated with suicidal behaviour. These findings contribute to understanding of the spectrum of reasons for gender differences in the lethality of suicidal behaviour and should inform the development of gender specific strategies for suicide prevention.

Methods of suicide/self-inflicted injuries for Santa Clara County residents. The methods of injury for suicide deaths are provided for the total county population and by race/ethnicity. Data for emergency department utilization and hospital discharges are summarized only for total county population. Data are presented for pooled years combined. Missing data are not included in the analysis. Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department, VRBIS, 2007-2016. Data as of 05/26/2017; Office of Statewide Planning and Development, 2007-2014 Emergency Department Data; Office of Statewide Planning and Development, 2007-2014 Patient Discharge Data.METADATA:Notes (String): Lists table title, notes and sourceYear (String): Year of eventData element (String): Lists data represents deaths, hospital discharges or emergency department visitsCategory (String): Lists the category representing the data. Suicide death data are presented as: Santa Clara County is for total population, sex: Male and Female, and race/ethnicity: African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino and White (non-Hispanic White only). Suicide attempt/ideation data are presented as: Santa Clara County is for total population.Means of injury (String): Methods are categorized as: Poisoning, Suffocation, Firearms, Fall, Cut/pierce, Fire/flame and other.Percentage (Numeric): Percentage

This statistic displays the methods of suicide in the Netherlands in 2021, by gender. It shows that the largest number of suicides for both genders took place through hanging/strangulation.

Data from Heuer (1979) on suicide rates in West Germany classified by age, sex, and method of suicide.
A data frame with 306 observations and 6 variables.

"PURPOSE: In the late 1990s, an epidemic rise in suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning from burning barbecue charcoal began in Hong Kong and Taiwan. This study investigates the diffusion of this new method of suicide.

METHOD: Official mortality data for 1998-2010 in Taiwan and 1998-2009 in Hong Kong were collected； overall and method-specific suicide rates in different socio-demographic subgroups over the study period were compared. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the socio-demographic risk factors for charcoal-burning vs. non-charcoal-burning suicide.

RESULTS: In Hong Kong, the incidence of charcoal-burning suicide increased steeply within 1 year of the first reported cases, but its use has declined from 24.2% of all suicides during the peak period (2002-2004) to 17.1% (2007-2009)； in Taiwan, the pace of diffusion was slower in onset, but it remains a popular method accounting for 31.0% of all suicides in 2008-2010. The early adopters in both places tended to be young- and middle-aged men. As the epidemic progressed, the method has also been gradually adopted by older age groups and women, particularly in Taiwan, but in 2009/10, the method still accounted for ＜8% of suicides in those aged >60 years in both areas.

CONCLUSIONS: Common features of the epidemic in both places were the greater levels of early uptake by the young- and middle-aged males. The different course of the charcoal-burning suicide epidemic may reflect social, geographic and media reporting differences. Surveillance to identify the emergence of new suicide methods is crucial in suicide prevention."

Methods for suicide-related behaviors and deaths by suicide.

Changes in suicide methods by sex and age group over the period 1995 to 2019 (baseline: 1995–1999).

IntroductionSuicide prevention is an important aspect of psychiatric care, with older men being a population identified at especially high suicide risk and a recent increase in suicides among older women.MethodsUsing data collected by the region’s quality assurance team, we examined all suicide deaths occurring between March 1999 and February 2024 in patients aged 60 years or older who were connected to the region’s Addiction and Mental Health Program at the time of death. Data were analyzed to describe which factors were most commonly identified in suicides in older adults receiving mental healthcare. We also compared male and female cases to determine whether certain factors were more commonly observed in one gender.ResultsWe identified 48 cases of suicide occurring in patients aged 60 or over. 60% of suicides occurred in males. Overdose and hanging were the most common suicide methods used, and all suicides occurring on inpatient units occurred via hanging. Depression was the most common diagnosis, and was diagnosed more frequently in suicides of female older adults. A greater proportion of suicides in older women were associated with previous history of suicide attempts.DiscussionOur findings support many current best practices for suicide prevention in psychiatric care, including minimizing ligatures and anchor points on inpatient settings, assessing for and limiting access to means in individuals at-risk, and assessing suicide risk in hospitalized patients prior to passes and discharge. Recognition and treatment of depression remain important aspects in the treatment of older adults to prevent suicide.

Age-adjustment mortality rates are rates of deaths that are computed using a statistical method to create a metric based on the true death rate so that it can be compared over time for a single population (i.e. comparing 2006-2008 to 2010-2012), as well as enable comparisons across different populations with possibly different age distributions in their populations (i.e. comparing Hispanic residents to Asian residents).
Age adjustment methods applied to Montgomery County rates are consistent with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) as well as Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Vital Statistics Administration (DHMH VSA). PHS Planning and Epidemiology receives an annual data file of Montgomery County resident deaths registered with Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Vital Statistics Administration (DHMH VSA).
Using SAS analytic software, MCDHHS standardizes, aggregates, and calculates age-adjusted rates for each of the leading causes of death category consistent with state and national methods and by subgroups based on age, gender, race, and ethnicity combinations. Data are released in compliance with Data Use Agreements between DHMH VSA and MCDHHS. This dataset will be updated Annually.

The most common method of suicide among veterans in the United States is by firearm. Although this is true for both men and women who served in the military, suicide by firearm is more common among men, accounting for 75 percent of all suicide deaths. Given the strenuous and stressful nature of military work, and the trauma that can result from combat and serving in the military, mental health is a continuous problem among veterans. Suicide among veterans It is estimated that around 7.6 percent of veterans in the United States aged 18 to 49 have had serious thoughts of suicide, while 1.4 percent have made suicide plans, and .04 percent have attempted suicide. Recent surveys have indicated that veterans are much more likely to report considering taking their own life after joining the military compared to before joining. In 2021, around 44 percent of surveyed veterans stated they considered taking their own life since joining the military, with only nine percent saying they considered doing so before joining. Common mental health problems among veterans Some of the most common health problems reported during military service by veterans and active service military members include sleep problems, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A survey from 2023 found that around three quarters of veteran and active service respondents who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound while serving in the military on or after September 11, 2001, reported experiencing PTSD. Health care for veterans in the United States is provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which also provides mental health care. VA mental health professionals are the leading resource used for veterans with a service-connected mental health injury, followed by civilian (non-VA) mental health professionals and vet center counselors.

Objectives: To estimate the incidence of serious suicide attempts (SSAs, defined as suicide attempts resulting in either death or hospitalisation) and to examine factors associated with fatality among these attempters. Design: A surveillance study of incidence and mortality. Linked data from two public health surveillance systems were analysed. Setting: Three selected counties in Shandong, China. Participants: All residents in the three selected counties. Outcome: measures Incidence rate (per 100 000 person-years) and case fatality rate (%). Methods: Records of suicide deaths and hospitalisations that occurred among residents in selected counties during 2009–2011 (5 623 323 person-years) were extracted from electronic databases of the Disease Surveillance Points (DSP) system and the Injury Surveillance System (ISS) and were linked by name, sex, residence and time of suicide attempt. A multiple logistic regression model was developed to examine the factors associated with a higher or low...

Number of suicides and suicide rates, by sex and age, in England and Wales. Information on conclusion type is provided, along with the proportion of suicides by method and the median registration delay.

The near to real-time suspected suicide surveillance (nRTSSS) data for England is classified as official statistics.

This publication includes:

• data that covers the most recent 25-month period
• data that covers the most recent quarter
• additional and revised data due to occasional delayed submission

The nRTSSS data presents rates of suspected suicides in England broken down by age group and sex. It also gives an overview of suspected suicide method. It is supplemented by:

• data tables to provide access to relevant data
• a methodology document to provide an overview of data quality assessment, inclusion criteria and statistical approaches used

The primary purpose of the nRTSSS is to provide suicide prevention planners with an early indication of changes in trends of suicide to inform and enable a more timely and targeted response.

These statistics moved from a monthly to a quarterly publication (updated in January, April, July and October) in January 2025. This decision was made following recent user research. Further changes to the content and presentation will follow.

Mortality from intentional self-harm and injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted (ICD-10 X60-X84, Y10-Y34 equivalent to ICD-9 E950-E959 and E980-E989 exc E988.8). To reduce the number of suicides. Legacy unique identifier: P00546

ABSTRACT Objective The aim of this study was to use a wavelet technique to determine whether the number of suicides is similar between developed and emerging countries. Methods Annual data were obtained from World Health Organization (WHO) reports from 1986 to 2015. Discrete nondecimated wavelet transform was used for the analysis, and the Daubechies wavelet function was applied with five-level decomposition. Regarding clustering, energy (variance) was used to analyze the clusters and visualize the clustering process. We constructed a dendrogram using the Mahalanobis distance. The number of groups was set using a specific function in the R program. Results The cluster analysis verified the formation of four groups as follows: Japan, the United States and Brazil were distinct and isolated groups, and other countries (Austria, Belgium, Chile, Israel, Mexico, Italy and the Netherlands) constituted a single group. Conclusion The methods utilized in this paper enabled a detailed verification of countries with similar behaviors despite very distinct socioeconomic, geographic and climate characteristics.

This table contains the number of victims of suicide arranged by marital status, method, motives, age and sex. They represent the number deaths by suicide in the resident population of the Netherlands. The figures in this table are equal to the suicide figures in the causes of death statistics, because they are based on the same files. The causes of death statistics do not contain information on the motive of suicide. For the years 1950-1995, this information is obtained from a historical data file on suicides. For the years 1996-now the motive is taken from the external causes of death (Niet-Natuurlijke dood) file. Before the 9th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), i.e. for the years 1950-1978, it was not possible to code "jumping in front of train/metro". For these years 1950-1978 "jumping in front of train/metro" has been left empty, and it has been counted in the group "other method". Relative figures have been calculated per 100 000 of the corresponding population group. The figures are calculated based on the average population of the corresponding year. Data available from: 1950 Status of the figures: The figures up to and including 2022 are final. Changes as of January 25th 2024: The provisional figures for 2022 have been made final unchanged. Changes as of August 29th 2023: The provisional figures for 2022 have been added. Some final figures of 2021 were incorrect and have been revised. A small adjustment was made in the number of deceased women from 60 to 69 years. When will new figures be published: In the third quarter of 2024 the provisional figures for 2023 will be published.