QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Suicide Rates,* by Method of Suicide† — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2001–2021
Weekly / September 15, 2023 / 72(37);1018
* Deaths per 100,000 population are age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
† Suicides were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes U03, X60–X84, and Y87.0. Specific methods of suicide were identified using underlying cause-of-death codes X72–X74 (firearm), X70 (suffocation), and X60–X69 (poisoning). Other methods include suicides involving means other than firearm, suffocation, or poisoning.
During 2001–2021, age-adjusted suicide rates involving firearms, suffocation, and other methods generally increased, and those involving poisoning decreased. Rates of firearm-related suicide were stable from 2001 (5.9 deaths per 100,000 population) to 2006 (5.5), and then increased through 2021 (7.5). Rates of suffocation-related suicide increased from 2.2 deaths in 2001 to 4.3 in 2018, and then decreased slightly through 2021 (3.8). After a period of increasing and then stable rates during 2001–2016, suicide rates attributed to poisoning decreased from 2.0 in 2016 to 1.6 in 2021. Firearm-related suicide had the highest rates during the period.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality Data, 2001–2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/deaths.htm
Reported by: Matthew F. Garnett, MPH, Mgarnett@cdc.gov; Sally C. Curtin, MA; Merianne R. Spencer, MPH.
For more information on this topic, CDC recommends the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/suicide
Suggested citation for this article: QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Suicide Rates, by Method of Suicide — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2001–2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:1018. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7237a4.
MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
All HTML versions of MMWR articles are generated from final proofs through an automated process. This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr) and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables.
Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.