Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Lifetime Suicide Attempts Among Blacks in the United States

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Suicide accounts for 1.5% of the global burden of disease, which represents 20 million years of healthy life lost due to premature death or disability.1 Among all Americans, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death and the rates range across specific demographic subgroups (eg, it is the 8th leading cause of death among Native Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and men).2 Across race and sex, the elderly, particularly white men aged 85 years and older have the highest suicide rate (51.6/year per 100 000 population).3 The risk of dying from suicide in 2003 was more than double for whites (13.0/100 000) than for blacks (5.3/100 000).4 In recent years, suicide and nonfatal suicidal behavior have emerged as crucial health issues for blacks, particularly among older adolescents and young adults.5-7 According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, the prevalences of attempted suicide for white and black high school students (7.3% and 7.6%, respectively) were roughly equal.8 Although suicide has traditionally been viewed as a problem that affects more whites, the rates of suicide among blacks have increased significantly since the mid 1980s.9 A precipitous increase in the rate of suicide10,11 and nonfatal suicidal behavior12 among younger blacks has reduced US racial disparities in suicidal behaviors. The difference in suicide rates between whites and blacks aged 15 to 24 years narrowed from a ratio of 1.7 in 1980 to 1.4 in 2003.3