This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Would you be surprised that the highest suicide rate in the United States is among adults ages 85 and older? And that the second-highest suicide rate is among adults ages 75-84?

For all the work done to increase suicide awareness and prevention, we still understand little about why the suicide rate among this age group is high and climbing compared with other ages.

However, recent studies are slowly revealing that what motivates suicide in older adults is often different than in younger adults. The signals an older adult sends about suicide are often subtle – but can be spotted.

What is the suicide rate among older adults?

The rate of suicide among Americans 85 and older was 22.7 per 100,000, while for ages 75-84 it was 19.4, compared with the overall suicide rate of 14.1, according to 2023 figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May 2025. The CDC says people older than 65 make up about 17% of Americans – but 23% of suicide deaths.

It’s not just America. A study by the medical journal Lancet found that suicide rates across 47 high-income countries were highest among those 65 and older.

As with all ages, older men in the U.S. are far more likely to die by suicide than women of a similar age, with a death rate as much as 17 times higher. The majority of suicides are by firearm – especially among men.

Multiple studies also note that while white Americans have one of the highest suicide rates of any ethnic or racial group, older adults are No. 1 by wide margins.

Unfortunately, these numbers may be low. Researchers are looking into theories that some deaths caused by medication overdoses, refusing to take essential medications or failing to eat might be acts of suicide.

What motivates an older adult to commit suicide?

Mental illness and substance abuse, as with younger people, can be precursors to suicide in older adults. But recent research shows that suicide risks are more prevalent in older adults because of:

• Loneliness or physical isolation
• Death of a spouse or partner
• Feeling like a burden to others, or fearing becoming one
• Decline in self-sufficiency
• Financial troubles from living on a fixed income
• Dementia or cognitive impairment
• Sense of declining physical and mental state

Older adults’ suicide attempts also tend to be more deadly than those of younger adults. According to a 2023 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report, for every four suicide attempts by older adults, one ends in death. That is a death rate between two and five times higher than other age ranges.

White Americans, especially men, are more likely than other groups to say they find suicide a rational option to physical illness or decline. Studies also show that older adults, mostly white men, who died by suicide were remembered as having been rigid, conscientious, disciplined, conservative, habit-driven and not openly emotional.

Those traits, researchers say, show why older adults who choose suicide often aren’t those who feel the end is near. Instead, it’s those who believe that they’ve entered the beginning of the end.

Why we miss older adults’ suicidal feelings

That same HHS report noted that, until recently, older adults have not been a focus of suicide research, intervention, programs and access to resources.

In short, screening for suicide wasn’t considered critical because historically, rates of suicide in older adults were low. It wasn’t until the Baby Boomer generation began aging that the National Alliance on Mental Illness detected a rise in suicide rates in that population.

Another problem of preventing suicide in older adults is that the usual screening tools are geared toward younger adults. Warning signs of potential suicide in older adults are often subtle and difficult to interpret. An older adult saying, “I hate to be a burden” to their physician or adult child may be thinking of suicide, or may just be self-effacing or trying to be polite.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has developed a list of behaviors to look for that could indicate an older patient, loved one or friend may be thinking about suicide, including:

• Loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy, including social activities
• Giving away beloved items
• Neglecting self-care and medical regimens
• Exhibiting a preoccupation with death
• Lack of concern for personal safety

Also, the loss of a spouse or loved one may trigger thoughts of suicide in the surviving partner.

How do you know if an older adult is thinking about suicide?

The NCOA also has advice on how to find out if the older adult in your life is thinking about suicide – and how to intervene.

• Ask and listen. Don’t be afraid to ask directly if they’re having suicidal thoughts. And when they talk, listen. Don’t feel you need to give advice or tell them their feelings are wrong.
• Be there. Keep in contact, whether in person or by phone or text. Let them know they have people in their life who care about them.
• Keep them safe. If you suspect the older adult in your life is thinking about suicide, keep tabs on their state of mind. Are they taking their medication? Are they eating? Do they have access to weapons or other means of killing themselves?
• Help them connect. Research and find available and accessible mental health resources, including the 988 help line.
• Follow up. Check in and see how they’re doing and ask if they’re seeking or getting help.

If you’re reading this and thinking about suicide, you can call or text 988 right now to get help. Or, if you don’t feel you’re in immediate crisis and just want someone to talk to, you can find your local “Warm Line” at warmlines.org. The Warm Line will provide empathetic peer support for you. You never have to feel alone; someone is out there ready to listen to you.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Suicide Data and Statistics.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/data.html
2. Health Affairs. “Suicide rates are high and rising in the U.S.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/suicide-rates-high-and-rising-among-older-adults-us
3. National Council on Aging. “Suicide and older adults: what you should know.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.ncoa.org/article/suicide-and-older-adults-what-you-should-know/
4. Molecular Psychiatry. “Age, period, and cohort effects on suicide death in the United States from 1999 to 2018: moderation by sex, race, and firearm involvement. Accessed July 31, 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8670065/
5. Social Science and Medicine. “A changing epidemiology of suicide? The influence of birth cohorts on suicide rates in the United States.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24929916/
6. Nature Aging. “Late-life suicide in an aging world.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43587-021-00160-1
7. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health, Disability and Aging Policy. “Interventions to Prevent Older Adult Suicide: Final Report.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/a53382dea822c0d88faa170f62dadd5d/interventions-prevent-older-adult-suicide.pdf
8. Men and Masculinities. “Suicide: Why are older men so vulnerable?” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://xyonline.net/sites/xyonline.net/files/2019-08/Canetto%2C%20Suicide%20-%20Why%20are%20older%20men%20so%20vulnerable%202017.pdf
9. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. “Public awareness campaigns on suicide prevention are not optimized for older adults.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1064748125000284
10. Journal of Family Nursing. “You don’t want to burden them: Older adults’ view on family involvement in care.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2825742/
11. The Lancet Health Longevity. “Method-specific suicide mortality rates among older adults in 47 countries and territories, 1996–2021, with projections to 2050: a global time series and modelling study.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(25)00038-8/fulltext
12. Singapore Medical Journal. “Suicide risk in elderly individuals.” Accessed July 31, 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8801854/