Illinois seniors at increased risk of suicide

Nearly 20% of suicides in Illinois between 2020 and 2021 were among people 65 and older, according to newly released data from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The suicides disproportionately affected white men between the ages of 65 and 74, with at least a high school education, living in small urban and rural settings, and where firearms were the cause of fatal injuries.

“Older adults are at greater risk for suicide,” said Maryann Mason, Ph.D., associate professor of emergency medicine. “If we understand the factors that play a role in these deaths, we can create more effective prevention strategies that work for our seniors and communities.”

The data overview, Analysis of Suicides Among Older Adults in Illinois, 2020–2021shows that among residents aged 65 and older, 248 preventable deaths were recorded in 2020 and 271 in 2021. This trend is in line with recently released figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Summary of National Surveillance of Preventable Violent Deaths.

Key findings include:

• The majority (52.7%) of older adults who committed suicide were between the ages of 65 and 74.
• Most (82.9%) suicide perpetrators were male.
• Firearms were the most commonly used weapon (58.7%).
• In 20% of the people who died by suicide, depression was present. Only 14.1% of the deceased were receiving treatment for their mental illness at the time.
• 4% of suicides occurred in the deceased’s home.

According to coroner/mortem reports, 18.5% of people who committed suicide showed signs of depression at the time of death and 9.4% had antidepressants in their system.

“This highlights potential gaps in the detection and treatment of depression in health care,” said Mason, who is also associate director of Feinberg’s Buehler Center for Health Policy and Economics. “Our data show that it may be important to begin outreach in ‘early’ aging and immediately after retirement and to potentially focus on safe storage and ‘retirement’ of firearm ownership among the populations most represented in these suicide deaths.”

Of the 40 cases in which depression was a circumstance, 29 (73%) had physical health problems as a co-occurring factor. This may indicate a need for greater attention to co-treatment of mental health problems when physical health problems arise in older adults, Mason said.

The Northwestern team collected data from the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System (IVDRS), which explains the who, what, when, where, how and why of violent deaths. IVDRS is part of the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), the only state-based surveillance system that combines unique data elements from multiple sources into a usable, de-identified database. IVDRS covers all types of violent deaths, including homicide and suicide, in all settings and for all age groups.

Individual case-level data are collected from death certificates, coroner/medical examiner, law enforcement, toxicology, and autopsy reports and reviewed for patterns and trends. Once certified by the CDC, the data are made available to health departments and community action groups to support prevention efforts.