TABLE 3. Number* and percentage† of suicides among persons aged ≥10 years,§ by precipitating circumstances and decedent’s sex — National Violent Death Reporting System, 32 states,¶ 2016.
| Precipitating circumstance | Male |
Female |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |
|
Mental health/Substance abuse
| |||
| Current diagnosed mental health problem** |
8,044 (44.3) |
3,533 (64.3) |
11,577 (49.0)
|
| Depression/dysthymia |
5,900 (73.3) |
2,665 (75.4) |
8,565 (74.0)
|
| Anxiety disorder |
1,327 (16.5) |
802 (22.7) |
2,129 (18.4)
|
| Bipolar disorder |
980 (12.2) |
665 (18.8) |
1,645 (14.2)
|
| Schizophrenia |
455 (5.7) |
169 (4.8) |
624 (5.4)
|
| PTSD |
461 (5.7) |
129 (3.7) |
590 (5.1)
|
| ADD/ADHD |
211 (2.6) |
55 (1.6) |
266 (2.3)
|
| OCD |
48 (<1.0) |
10 (<1.0) |
58 (<1.0)
|
| Eating disorder |
1 (<1.0) |
23 (<1.0) |
24 (<1.0)
|
| Other |
534 (6.6) |
184 (5.2) |
718 (6.2)
|
| Unknown |
704 (8.8) |
314 (8.9) |
1,018 (8.8)
|
| Current depressed mood |
6,745 (37.2) |
1,983 (36.1) |
8,728 (36.9)
|
| History of ever being treated for a mental health problem |
5,886 (32.5) |
2,803 (51.0) |
8,689 (36.8)
|
| Current mental health treatment |
4,180 (23.0) |
2,209 (40.2) |
6,389 (27.0)
|
| Alcohol problem |
3,360 (18.5) |
838 (15.3) |
4,198 (17.8)
|
| Substance abuse problem (excludes alcohol) |
2,930 (16.2) |
1,030 (18.8) |
3,960 (16.8)
|
| Other addiction (e.g., gambling, sex) |
170 (<1.0) |
24 (<1.0) |
194 (<1.0)
|
|
Interpersonal
| |||
| Intimate partner problem |
5,253 (29.0) |
1,391 (25.3) |
6,644 (28.1)
|
| Family relationship problem |
1,576 (8.7) |
667 (12.1) |
2,243 (9.5)
|
| Other death of family member or friend |
1,074 (5.9) |
391 (7.1) |
1,465 (6.2)
|
| Suicide of family member or friend |
407 (2.2) |
153 (2.8) |
560 (2.4)
|
| Perpetrator of interpersonal violence during past month |
511 (2.8) |
47 (<1.0) |
558 (2.4)
|
| Other relationship problem (nonintimate) |
390 (2.2) |
133 (2.4) |
523 (2.2)
|
| Victim of interpersonal violence during past month |
44 (<1.0) |
53 (<1.0) |
97 (<1.0)
|
|
Life stressor
| |||
| Crisis during previous or upcoming 2 weeks |
5,853 (32.3) |
1,527 (27.8) |
7,380 (31.2)
|
| Physical health problem |
4,028 (22.2) |
1,236 (22.5) |
5,264 (22.3)
|
| Argument or conflict |
2,926 (16.1) |
909 (16.6) |
3,835 (16.2)
|
| Job problem |
2,034 (11.2) |
376 (6.8) |
2,410 (10.2)
|
| Financial problem |
1,670 (9.2) |
382 (7.0) |
2,052 (8.7)
|
| Recent criminal legal problem |
1,771 (9.8) |
248 (4.5) |
2,019 (8.5)
|
| Eviction or loss of home |
718 (4.0) |
208 (3.8) |
926 (3.9)
|
| Noncriminal legal problem |
635 (3.5) |
163 (3.0) |
798 (3.4)
|
| School problem |
288 (1.6) |
93 (1.7) |
381 (1.6)
|
| History of child abuse/neglect |
142 (<1.0) |
107 (1.9) |
249 (1.1)
|
| Physical fight (two persons, not a brawl) |
203 (1.1) |
30 (<1.0) |
233 (<1.0)
|
| Traumatic anniversary |
113 (<1.0) |
45 (<1.0) |
158 (<1.0)
|
| Caretaker abuse/neglect led to death |
10 (<1.0) |
12 (<1.0) |
22 (<1.0)
|
| Exposure to disaster |
22 (<1.0) |
0 (0.0) |
22 (<1.0)
|
|
Crime and criminal activity
| |||
| Precipitated by another crime |
728 (4.0) |
60 (1.1) |
788 (3.3)
|
| Crime in progress†† |
237 (32.6) |
16 (26.7) |
253 (32.1)
|
| Terrorist attack |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0) |
0 (0.0)
|
| Suicide event | |||
| Left a suicide note |
5,776 (31.8) |
2,164 (39.4) |
7,940 (33.6)
|
| History of suicidal thoughts or plans |
5,733 (31.6) |
1,972 (35.9) |
7,705 (32.6)
|
| History of suicide attempt |
2,990 (16.5) |
1,809 (32.9) |
4,799 (20.3)
|
|
Suicide disclosure
| |||
| Disclosed suicide intent |
4,320 (23.8) |
1,234 (22.5) |
5,554 (23.5)
|
| Disclosed intent to whom§§ | |||
| Previous or current intimate partner |
1,659 (38.4) |
440 (35.7) |
2,099 (37.8)
|
| Other family member |
1,279 (29.6) |
358 (29.0) |
1,637 (29.5)
|
| Friend/colleague |
562 (13.0) |
183 (14.8) |
745 (13.4)
|
| Health care worker |
177 (4.1) |
72 (5.8) |
249 (4.5)
|
| Neighbor |
40 (<1.0) |
14 (1.1) |
54 (<1.0)
|
| Other person |
342 (7.9) |
69 (5.6) |
411 (7.4)
|
| Unknown |
261 (6.0) |
98 (7.9) |
359 (6.5)
|
| Total ¶¶ | 18,138 (90.9) | 5,492 (93.3) | 23,630 (91.4) |
Abbreviations: ADD/ADHD = attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; OCD = obsessive-compulsive disorder; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder.
* Includes suicides with one or more precipitating circumstances. More than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
† Denominator includes those suicides with one or more precipitating circumstances. The sum of percentages in columns exceeds 100% because more than one circumstance could have been present per decedent.
§ Suicide is not reported for decedents aged <10 years, as per standard in the suicide prevention literature. Denominators for the suicide rates represent the total population aged ≥10 years.
¶ Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington collected data on ≥80% of violent deaths in the state, in accordance with requirements under which the state was funded. Denominators for the rates for these three states represent only the populations of the counties from which the data were collected.
** Includes decedents with one or more diagnosed current mental health problems; therefore, sums of percentages for the diagnosed conditions exceed 100%. Denominator includes the number of decedents with one or more current diagnosed mental health problems.
†† Denominator includes those decedents involved in an incident that was precipitated by another crime.
§§ Denominator includes decedents who disclosed intent.
¶¶ Circumstances were unknown for 2,220 decedents (1,823 males and 397 females); total no. of suicide decedents = 25,850 (19,961 males and 5,889 females).