Suicide

On average, 340 Utah residents die, 1,040 are hospitalized, and 2,650 are treated in emergency departments because of suicide and attempted suicide each year. From 2001-2005, 1,708 Utah residents committed suicide, making it the eighth leading cause of death. For more information please see the Utah Suicide Fact Sheet.

How Are We Doing?
For the years 2001-2005, Utah males committed suicide four times as often as females. However, more females attempt suicide than males. Suicide rates are highest in the 35-44 year age group. Rural Utah has a higher rate of suicide and attempted suicide than Urban Utah. Firearms were used in the majority of suicides. The majority of attempted suicides that resulted in hospitalization or a visit to the emergency department were due to poisoning.

How Does Utah Compare With the U.S.?
Utah had the 7th highest suicide rate in the nation for the years 2000-2004. The top 10 states for suicide rates are all in the Western U.S. Utah's rate has remained among the highest in the nation for more than two decades (14.34 per 100,000 population in Utah vs. 10.81 per 100,000 population nationwide for the years 2000-2004). Suicide rates in Utah are higher than the U.S. rate in every age group.

What Is Being Done?
The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services has developed the Healthy People 2010 Initiative – a “prevention agenda” for the nation. It is a statement of national health objectives designed to identify the most significant preventable threats to health and to establish national goals to reduce these threats. The objective for suicide is to reduce the Utah overall rate of 21.1 per 100,000 population (the 1997 baseline) to 5 per 100,000 in 2010. The objective for males ages 15-19 years is to bring the rate down to 10 per 100,000.