Indicator Report - Suicide by Age Group and Sex, Utah, 2006-2010
Why Is This Important?
From 2006 to 2010, Utah's age-adjusted suicide rate was 15.8 per 100,000 persons. This is an average of 402 suicides per year. Utah has one of the highest age-adjusted suicide rates in the U.S. It is the second leading cause of death for Utahns ages 15 to 44 years old.Completed suicides are only part of the problem. More people are hospitalized or treated in an emergency room for suicide attempts than are fatally injured. According to the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, during the past 12 months before the survey, 7.2% of Utah high school students attempted suicide one or more times and 3.1% of these students suffered an injury, poisoning, or an overdose that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse. The most recent data show that 2,657 Utahns were seen in emergency departments (2009) and 1,446 Utahns were hospitalized for self-inflicted injuries (2010).
Data from the 2005-2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Data showed that 4.6% of Utahns 18 years and older reported thoughts of hurting themselves or that they would be better off dead. Males and females 85 years and older had the highest prevalence (8.0% and 12.4%), followed by males and females 18-24 years of age (7.1% and 9.1%). All suicide attempts should be taken seriously. Those who survive suicide attempts are often seriously injured and many have depression and other mental health problems.
Suicide is a complex public health issue where victims may be blamed and family members stigmatized. Consequently, suicide is not openly discussed making it difficult to collect meaningful data that is vital to suicide prevention efforts.
Suicide by Age Group and Sex, Utah, 2006-2010
Data Notes
*Use caution in interpreting, the estimate has a relative standard error greater than 30% and does not meet UDOH standards for reliability. For more information, please go to http://health.utah.gov/opha/IBIShelp/DataSuppression.pdf. Suicides are determined using ICD-10 codes X60-X84, Y87.0, U03.Data Sources
Utah Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of Health. Population Estimates: Utah Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.Other Views
- by Sex and Year, Utah and U.S., 2003-2010
- by Local Health District, Utah, 2006-2010 and U.S. 2006-2009
- by Utah Small Area, 2006-2010
- by Method of Injury and Sex, Utah, 2005-2010
- by Race, Utah, 2005-2009
- by Ethnicity, Utah, 2005-2009
- Risk Among High School Students by Risk Factor and Sex, Utah, 2011
Definition
Number of resident deaths resulting from the intentional use of force against oneself per 100,000 population. ICD-10 codes X60-X84, Y87.0, U03.How We Calculated the Rates
| Numerator: | Number of deaths resulting from the intentional use of force against oneself. |
| Denominator: | Total number of persons in the population of Utah. |
Page Content Updated On 04/10/2012,
Published on 04/10/2012
