A Concern Among Elderly Men?

TOPLINE:

In 2021, adults older than 65 years showed higher rates of suicide mortality than individuals of all age groups combined, with men being more affected than women. Although hanging was the most common method of suicide among this older population, they used firearms more frequently than younger individuals.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers examined trends in suicide mortality among adults aged 65 years or older using data from the World Health Organization mortality database covering 47 countries between 1996 and 2021.
• They evaluated rates of suicide mortality, with subanalyses by sex, age, and suicide method, and projected suicide mortality rates to 2050.
• The analysis included 3,461,242 suicide deaths from the total population, encompassing all age groups, of which 687,443 deaths occurred among individuals aged 65 years or older.

TAKEAWAY:

• Suicide mortality was significantly higher among adults aged 65 years or older than among individuals of all age groups (15.99 vs 10.87 deaths per 100,000 individuals; P < .0001), with higher rates in older men than in older women (29.24 vs 6.47 per 100,000 individuals; P < .0001).
• Hanging was the most common method of suicide among older adults. Firearm-related suicide mortality rates were higher in the older age group than in the total population (2.44 vs 1.09 per 100,000 individuals; P < .0001) and were markedly higher in older men than in older women (5.46 vs 0.16 per 100,000 individuals; P < .0001).
• Suicide mortality declined from 23.34 per 100,000 individuals in 1996 to 15.99 per 100,000 individuals in 2021 (P < .0001), with a larger decline in women than in men (P < .0001); however, the rate of decline is projected to decelerate by 2050.
• Poverty rates, alcohol use disorders, mental disorders, ownership of firearms, and the use of pesticides in croplands were some factors that influenced suicide mortality rates.

IN PRACTICE:

“Older adults have consistently shown the highest suicide mortality rates across all age groups, and with global population ageing, this public health issue will grow more pressing,” the authors wrote. “This [study] underscores the need for rigorous monitoring and targeted strategies for vulnerable subgroups, such as older men and those in the most advanced age groups,” they added.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Hanseul Cho, MD, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and Soeun Kim, MSc, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. It was published online on July 11, 2025, in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.

LIMITATIONS:

The numbers and classification of suicides may have varied across countries and over the duration of this study. The projections were made based on models with defined assumptions, which may change over time. Certain other factors that may influence suicide mortality rates were not included in this study.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust and the National Research Foundation of Korea. One author reported receiving salary support from the US National Institutes of Health and receiving honorarium for his role as a co-editor-in-chief for a journal owned by Elsevier. Another author reported receiving honoraria/serving as a consultant for some pharmaceutical companies.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.