More than 30,000 people in the United States die by suicide every year. It is this country’s 11th leading cause of death, and is often characterized as a response to a single event or set of circumstances. However, unlike these popular conceptions, suicide is a much more involved phenomenon. The factors that contribute to any particular suicide are diverse and complex, so our efforts to understand it must incorporate many approaches. The clinical, neurobiological, legal, and psychosocial aspects of suicide are some of the major lines of inquiry into suicide.
New Mexico consistently ranks among the top 5 states in the United States for its suicide rate, which is 1.5 to 2 times the national average. The suicide rates among all ethnicities and age groups are 4 times higher among males (31.6 per 100,000) than females (6.9 per 100,000). Suicide is the 9th leading cause of death for New Mexicans.
Factors that contribute to suicide
Substance abuse and mental health disorders are the two most common psychiatric illnesses associated to suicide, yet those afflicted are often undiagnosed, untreated, or both. Alcohol is the 2nd leading cause of death for New Mexicans and is 2 times the national average. A study in patients with major depression found “men were more likely to have psychoactive substance abuse and women were more likely than men to have a history of hospitalization” (“A Review of Suicide,” 1994). The risk of suicide is much greater when both substance abuse and mental health disorders are present. According to another study, the risk of suicide attempts or completions following a psychiatric admission is highest in the first 1-2 years after discharge (“Adequacy of Antidepressant,” 2002).
American Journal Psychiatry April 1994, vol.151, p. 530. Review of suicide in patients with major depression. Retrieved 10/01/05 from www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_n5_v501/ai_15870971
Oquendo, M., Kamali, M., Ellis, S.,Grunebaum, M., Malone, K., Brodsky, B., et al (2002). Adequacy of Antidepressant Treatment After Discharge and the Occurrence of Suicidal Acts in Major Depression: A Prospective Study. 159:1746-1751. Retrieved 09-24-05 from www.ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cqi/content/full/159/10/1746
New Mexico Department of Health Office Spring 2005. New Mexico State Epidemiology Profile Strategic Prevention Framework – State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG). www.health.state.nm.us
Suicide can be prevented.
While some suicides occur without any outward warning, most do not. Prevent suicide among loved ones by learning to recognize the signs of someone at risk, taking those signs seriously and knowing how to respond to them. The emotional crises that usually precede suicide are most often both recognizable and treatable. Prevent suicide through early recognition and treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses.