Male Suicide in the United States
Graph of the Week
This week’s graphs, courtesy of a recent report by the National Center for Health Statistics, illustrate suicide rates in the United States (U.S.) from 2002 to 2022.
Sex difference
Suicide rates among males have been increasing over the past 20 years and are 3-4 times higher than among females. In 2022, 39,273 males in the U.S. ended their own lives (see related report).
Age difference
Rates and absolute numbers of suicide are highest among males who are over the age 25, including males over 75 years old.
Method
Firearms are the most common method of suicide among males, followed by suffocation and poisoning. Among females (not shown in graph), suicide rates are highest between the ages of 25-64, and poisoning has been the most common method of suicide among females. However, in recent years, firearms, suffocation, and poisoning have been used at similar frequencies as poisoning among females.
Source: Garnett MF, Curtin SC. Suicide mortality in the United States, 2002–2022. NCHS Data Brief, no 509. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2024.
Bonus Commentary
Suicide is a significant men’s health issue. It contributes to shorter male than female life expectancy. Oddly, though death by suicide is significantly more common among men than women, suicide is generally not framed by big public health as a men’s health issue. If the data of the sexes were reversed with regard to death by suicide, we would almost certainly see big public health frame suicide as a “gendered” issue. Gamma bias is one potential explanation for why suicide is not regularly discussed as being primarily a men’s health issue.
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