Global, regional, and national burden of suicide, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(25)00006-4/fulltext?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-96LgYPHlAywRweg94kH85zMBDlmrKOK7xVcSpPg0aGxgzQnrINISY4S98MF4sEys8Xodv3Utfwt2VHeBSItLWYPUjyFA&_hsmi=348145306&utm_content=348145306&utm_source=hs_email 746,000 That’s how many people died by suicide globally in 2021, according to new estimates published yesterday in the Lancet Public Health. The standardized global mortality rate from suicide has declined from almost 15 deaths per 100,000 in 1990 to 9 per 100,000 in 2021. The data, from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study and updated to include the years since 2016, is the only estimate of suicide mortality at the global level, the authors write. Here are some more of the study’s important findings: While the overall suicide mortality rate decreased over three decades, the rate increased in areas the study designated as central, Andean, and Tropical Latin America, as well as high-income North America. Regional mortality rates are highest in eastern Europe (19.2 per 100,000), and southern (16.1) and central (14.4) sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S., Uruguay, and Venezuela have the highest rates of gun-related suicides. The U.S. has almost double the number of gun-related deaths as the next two countries, with a rate of 6.19 firearm-related deaths per 100,000, vs 3.61 and 3.04 respectively. There was not a major difference in the global suicide mortality rate before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. (In 2019, the rate was 9.2 per 100,000.)