The study says that every minute, four males and six females across the globe need inpatient treatment due to suicide attempts. Males die from suicide at twice the rate of females, and their attempts result in death three times more often than female attempts.

About 740,000 suicides are reported annually from across the globe: that’s one death on average every 43 seconds, one of the many disturbing findings in the latest and most comprehensive analysis published on Wednesday in The Lancet Public Health.

Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine in Seattle conducted a deep dive of the Global Burden of Disease data by region, country, year, age, sex, and suicide by firearms from 1990 to 2021. 

Over the last three decades, the global age-standardized mortality rate for suicide declined by nearly 40 per cent, from about 15 deaths per 100,000 to 9 deaths per 100,000, indicating that intervention and prevention are working. For females, the rate declined by more than 50 per cent, while it declined by almost 34 per cent for males. Regionally, East Asia recorded the largest decline of 66 per cent with China reporting the largest decline in the region. 

Declining Suicide Rates

While the progress is encouraging, it’s not universal. Four regions reported increases in the suicide rate for both sexes combined during the same period. Central Latin America had the highest jump at 39 per cent, with Mexico at the top of the region’s list with a 123 per cent increase for females alone. Andean Latin America had the second highest increase of 13 per cent, with Ecuador recording the largest rise for both sexes combined in the region. Tropical Latin America was third with a 9 per cent increase, and Paraguay was at the top of the region’s list for both sexes combined. High-income North America registered a 7 per cent increase, with the US at the top of the region’s list with a 23 per cent jump for females alone. 

“While the progress made in declining suicide rates is encouraging, it is clear that suicide continues to impact some countries and populations more than others.” 

Among the 2021 global causes of death, suicide was ranked 21st (higher than HIV/AIDS) for both sexes combined. Regionally, the highest mortality rates1 from suicide were in Eastern Europe, Southern sub-Saharan Africa, and Central sub-Saharan Africa. For males, suicide was the 19th-leading cause of death globally, with Eastern Europe recording the highest death rate. For females, suicide was ranked 27th globally, with South Asia having the highest rate for females. 

“While the progress made in declining suicide rates is encouraging, it is clear that suicide continues to impact some countries and populations more than others. Removing suicide stigma and barriers to access mental health support systems remain critical measures, particularly among people with mental and substance abuse disorders,” said senior author Dr. Mohsen Naghavi with IHME.  

Males More Vulnerable

Previous studies found that victims of violence, sexual assault, and childhood trauma are observed to be at increased risk for suicide. Research has consistently shown that access to lethal means, such as guns and pesticide, is associated with higher rates of suicides. Prior evidence suggests that poverty and social deprivation are also associated with suicide. 

The latest numbers also underscore a grim difference between males and females globally, regionally, and nationally. Males were more than twice as likely to die from suicide than females, but females were 49 per cent more likely to attempt it. According to researchers, every minute, four men and six women needed inpatient treatment due to suicide attempts. Overall, the mortality rate1 for suicide was 12.8 per 100,000 population for males and 5.4 per 100,000 population for females. 

“Removing suicide stigma and barriers to access mental health support systems remain critical measures, particularly among people with mental and substance abuse disorders.”

The incidence of suicide attempts requiring medical care that did not result in death was three times higher for females compared to males. This difference was highest in high-income North America, with one in 30.7 attempts resulting in death for females and one in 6.3 attempts resulting in death for males. 

Suicide Prevention

Globally, males were more than three times as likely to die by suicide using firearms than females: 10 per cent of suicides by males were with guns, while 3 per cent of suicides by females were with guns. The U.S. had the highest firearm-related suicides in the world: nearly 22,000 or 55 per cent of suicides by males were with guns, while more than 3,000 or nearly 31 per cent of suicides by females were with guns. 

“Men tend to choose more violent and lethal methods of suicide such as guns, while women are more likely to choose less fatal means such as poisoning and overdosing, which have a higher survival rate,” said Emily Rosenblad, the study’s second author and project officer at IHME. 

Both males and females globally are dying by suicide later in life. In 1990, the average age at death for males was 43 years, and for females it was almost 42 years. By 2021, the average age at death had climbed to 47 for males and nearly 47 for females. The highest mean age was about 58 years for males and 60 years for females, both in East Asia. Conversely, the youngest average age at suicide was found in Oceania, where it was 36 years for males and 34 years for females.  

The study identifies the existing patterns and trends to develop more effective suicide prevention methods around the world, which can help policymakers and health care workers develop better-customised strategies and approaches for specific locations and populations. 

Suicide prevention is most effective when communities work together through awareness, intervention, and support systems.