Elderly Suicide in Utah
Claims
"[I]n Utah...suicide rates are surpassed only by Nevada among the elderly...."
- C. D. Turbeville, ed., Current Trends & Updates 7(13), Third World Baptist Missions Network
- Dale Burden, ed., The Gist, Summer 2000, Kry: The Fundamental Voice for Free Will Baptists
- E. L. Bynum, ed., News & Views, 6/00, Tabernacle Baptist Church
"The elderly (age 75+) suicide rate for the nation is 19.2 per 100,000. For Utah it is 57 per 100,000 which is surpassed only by that of Nevada."
- Frederick C. Kubicek, The Mormon Doctrine - Is It Christian?, Unlimited Glory Ministries
- We�re Christians Too!, Let Us Reason Ministries
What is Utah's elderly suicide rate?
Figure 1 shows the elderly suicide rates for Utah and the United States. Rates are the number of suicides per 100,000 residents age 75 and older. Because the number of elderly suicides in Utah in a single year is so small, the rate fluctuates widely from year to year.
How does Utah's rate compare to the rest of the country?
Table 1 shows how Utah's rate compares to the rest of the states. A rank of 1 indicates the highest rate.
Table 1. State elderly suicide rates for the United States and Utah, and Utah's rank, 1993-2002.
| Year |
High |
Average |
Low |
Utah |
Rank |
| 1993 |
51.3 NV |
22.3 |
0 AK |
15.5 |
44 |
| 1994 |
48.2 MT |
21.7 |
0 AK |
25.7 |
15 |
| 1995 |
50.7 MT |
20.8 |
7.0 MA |
17.0 |
34 |
| 1996 |
47.1 WY |
20.0 |
7.6 MA |
23.9 |
15 |
| 1997 |
54.1 WY |
19.6 |
5.3 RI |
23.1 |
21 |
| 1998 |
44.8 WY |
20.0 |
9.0 RI |
26.0 |
13 |
| 1999 |
60.1 NV |
18.5 |
8.6 MA |
15.0 |
35 |
| 2000 |
36.7 OR |
18.1 |
5.0 RI |
23.5 |
13 |
| 2001 |
42.6 NV |
17.4 |
7.1 AK |
15.2 |
32 |
| 2002 |
54.7 WY |
17.8 |
7.4 RI |
21.2 |
14 |
The following map shows how elderly suicide rates vary across the country.
Figure 2. State elderly suicide rates, 1998-2002 average
Sources
All data was retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control's WISQARS database.
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