The Surgeon General's Call To Action
To Prevent Suicide, 1999

• For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death, behind unintentional injury and homicide. In 1996, more teenagers and young adults died of suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and influenza, and chronic lung disease combined.
• Americans under the age of 25 accounted for 35% of the population, and 15% of all suicide deaths in 1996. The rate among children aged 10-14 was 1.6/100,000, the rate for children aged 15-19 was 9.7 per 100,000, and the rate for young people aged 20-24 was 14.5/100,000.
• Important risk factors for attempted suicide in youth are depression, alcohol or other drug use disorder, and aggressive or disruptive behaviors.
• Over the last several decades, the suicide rate in young people has increased dramatically. From 1952-1996, the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled, although there has been a general decline in youth suicides since 1994. From 1980-1996, the rate of suicide among persons aged 15-19 years increased by 14% and among persons aged 10-14 years by 100%. For African-American males aged 15-19, the rate increased 105%.
• Among persons aged 15-19 years, firearm-related suicides accounted for 63% of the increase in the overall rate of suicide from 1980-1996.
• The risk for suicide among young people is greatest among young white males; however, from 1980 through 1996, suicide rates increased most rapidly among young black males.
• Males under the age of 25 are much more likely to commit suicide than their female counterparts. The 1996 gender ratio for people aged 15-19 was 5:1 (males to females), while among those aged 20-24 it was 7:1.
• Although suicide among young children is a rare event, the dramatic increase in the rate among 10-to-14-year-olds underscores the urgent need for intensifying efforts to prevent suicide among persons in this age group.
• It has been widely reported that gay and lesbian youth are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than other youth and that 30 percent of all attempted or completed youth suicides are related to issues of sexual identity. There are no empirical data on completed suicides to support such assertions, but there is growing concern about an association between suicide risk and bisexuality or homosexuality for youth, particularly males. Increased attention has been focused on the need for empirically based and culturally competent research on the topic of gay, lesbian and bisexual suicide.
• In a survey of students in 151 high schools around the country, the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System found that Hispanic students (10.7%) were significantly more likely than white students (6.3%) to have reported a suicide attempt. Among Hispanic students, females (14.9%) were more than twice as likely as males (7.2%) to have reported a suicide attempt. But Hispanic male students (7.2%) were significantly more likely than white male students (3.2%) to report this behavior.

For more information, please contact the following offices:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
www.cdc.gov/ncipc
404-639-3286

Health Resources and Services Administration
www.hrsa.dhhs.gov
301-443-1989

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Suicide Research Consortium
www.nimh.nih.gov/research/suicide.htm
301-443-4536

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
www.samhsa.gov
301-443-8956

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health/Surgeon General 
www.surgeongeneral.gov
202-690-7694

Last revised: January 4, 2007