Senior Suicide
In The United States
There is a growing epidemic in our elderly population – suicide. People over age 65 number about 13% of the population but account for one fifth of all suicides. With more baby boomers now entering the ranks of the seniors’ population, the problem is expected to grow. In fact, those born between 1946 and 1965 are more likely to commit suicide than any other generation in our history. Sadly, many senior suicide attempts are successful with one death for every four who do not succeed. This compares with the youth rate of about one death in 200 attempts.
The high rate of completed suicide attempts in the senior population is due to a number of socio-economic factors such as:
- Isolation – often, there is a lack of a support system, especially with advanced age.
- Medical Problems – many seniors have serious health problems.
- Economic Pressures – living on fixed incomes that are being eroded by the nation’s economic woes.
There are societal issues of course but there is one that stands out from the rest – how we culturally see the elderly. The Archives for the Journal of American Medical Association lists a number of medical disciplines that members can access such as Dermatology, Plastic Surgery, Pediatrics etc. but – no category for geriatrics or gerontology.
The medical field has long been aware of the rising death rates due to suicide. Statistics in the U.S. for all states began in 1933. According to David Litts, Associate Director of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center in Wyoming the suicide rate of seniors in the United States was 17 per 100,000. Today that rate has increased to 25% of all suicide deaths.
''There's no other group showing that kind of an increase,'' said Dr. John L. McIntosh, associate professor of psychology at Indiana University. ''People say, 'I'm going to live longer, but is that going to be the kind of life I want to live?'
