Suicide Mortality Risk in the United States by Sex and Age Groups

Hyeyoung Woo, Portland State University
Jarron M. Saint Onge, University of Kansas
Daniel Standridge, Portland State University

Overall individual health has been critically improved over the last century in the United States. However, among the leading causes of death, only suicide rates show a significant increase in recent decades and the increases have been even greater among females. This study is designed to better understand adult suicide mortality risk by sex and age groups using data from the National Health Interview Surveys linked to mortality information from the National Death Index (1986-2006). Our results from Cox proportional hazard models confirm that the social patterns in suicide mortality differ by sex: strong associations of education, marriage and bed disability days for males vs. weak or little associations for females. We also found variations in the associations across age groups. The findings provide useful insights for prevention to reduce adult suicide mortality.