A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has revealed that the suicide rate of older adults ranging in age between 40 and 64 in the United States has risen by approximately 40% since 1999. The study also found that economic factors were present in 37.5% of all completed suicides in 2010, which was a rise of almost 5% from 32.9% in 2005.
Katherine A. Hempstead, coauthor of the study, says that "relative to other age groups, a larger and increasing proportion of middle-aged suicides have circumstances associated with job, financial, or legal distress and are completed using suffocation."
"The sharpest increase in external circumstances appears to be temporally related to the worst years of the Great Recession, consistent with other work showing a link between deteriorating economic conditions and suicide" Hempstead says. "Financial difficulties related to the loss of retirement savings in the stock market crash may explain some of this trend."
Researchers believe that the increase in the suicide rate is the result of effects of the economic downturn of 2007-2009. They analyzed data from the National Violent Death Reporting System and analyzed 17 different suicide circumstances, with four indicators related to intent and planning.
Suffocation deaths, which is more likely to be used in suicides related to employment, economic, or legal factors, increased disproportionately among middle-aged individuals. The study found that the number of suicides from suffocation rose by 59.5% among people aged 40-64 years between 2005 and 2010, compared to 18.0% for those aged 15-39 and 27.2% for people older than 65.
The circumstances surrounding the suicides were grouped into three main categories: personal, interpersonal, and external. Personal circumstances included depressed moods, treatment for mental health issues, or alcohol dependence. Interpersonal circumstances includes death of friends or family, intimate partner troubles, or being a victim of partner violence. External circumstances included job or financial problems, legal trouble or problems in school.
The researchers found that many of these external causes of suicide have risen especially in older adults, and they believe that more attention to these potential causes of suicide should be highlighted in an effort to lower the risk due to these types of circumstances.
"Increased awareness is needed that job loss, bankruptcy, foreclosure, and other financial setbacks can be risk factors for suicide" the study's authors say. "Human resource departments, employee assistance programs, state and local employment agencies, credit counselors, and others who interact with those in financial distress should improve their ability to recognize people at risk and make referrals."
