The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released their November 2023 data brief, “Suicide among Adults Age 55 and Older, 2021.” The report highlights that men aged 85 and older had the highest suicide rates (55.7 deaths per 100,000 population) among adults aged 55 and older, while women aged 55–64 had the second-highest rate (7.8). The largest percent increase in suicide rates between 2001 and 2021 occurred among men aged 55–64 and among women aged 65–74.
The report also reveals that the suicide rate among men aged 55 and older rose with increasing age, from 26.6 (55–64) and 26.1 (65–74), to 38.2 (75–84) and 55.7 (85 and older). Conversely, the suicide rate among women aged 55 and older decreased with increasing age, from 7.8 (55–64) and 5.6 (65–74), to 4.8 (75–84) and 3.3 (85 and older). For adults aged 55–64 and 65–74, the rates for men were 3 to 5 times higher than the rates for women. For adults aged 75–84, the rate for men was almost 8 times higher, and for adults aged 85 and older, the rate for men was nearly 17 times higher than the rate for women.
Firearms were the leading mechanism of suicide among men aged 55 and older across all age groups; rates were nearly 3 to 14 times higher than rates for suicide due to poisoning and suffocation across age groups. For firearm-related suicide among men, the rate increased with age. For women aged 55 and older, rates of firearm-related and poisoning-related suicide were generally highest, with similar rates for each age group across both mechanisms of suicide. Both firearm-related and poisoning-related suicide rates declined with increasing age among women.
You can access the data brief here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, with an age-adjusted rate of 14.1 deaths per 100,000 population in 2021. Older adults tend to have higher rates of suicide, although they represent a low percentage of the total number of suicides. Factors that specifically affect older adults can include declines in physical and cognitive functioning, changes in mental health, and other factors often associated with getting older, like bereavement, loneliness, and lack of social connectedness. Facility staff should be aware of warning signs for identifying suicide risk and suicide ideation. Staff should be trained to immediately report these warning signs to leaders of the facility. The leaders should be knowledgeable in what to do if a resident is thinking about committing suicide, and must take all reports seriously. Additionally, leaders should be knowledgeable in what to do if a resident does attempt suicide or if they succeed in their suicide attempt.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on suicide prevention. Update as needed.
- Train staff on identifying warning signs of suicide risk and suicide ideation. Additionally, train facility leadership on what to do if a resident is identified as considering suicide, and what to do if a resident attempts or succeeds at committing suicide. Document that the training occurred, and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit staff understanding to ensure that they are knowledgeable in identifying warning signs of suicide ideation. Utilize the resources available to all Med-Net clients in the Suicide Prevention category of Med-Net Academy and to the overall public at the following link: Med-Net Suicide Prevention – (mednetconcepts.com). These include recorded programs, a suicide prevention poster, and a suicide response guide.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
