By
Danielle Ray
November 1st, 2025
Alexander Tsai, MD, Ph.D., associate professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s department of epidemiology
According to a recent study, suicide rates around the world are higher among older adults, especially men, than all other age groups combined.
Using data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database, the study analyzed 687,443 suicide deaths among adults age 65 and older from 47 countries and territories. It tracked from 1996 to 2021, nearly 3.5 million suicide deaths in the total population.
Researchers found suicide deaths were significantly higher among adults age 65 and older than among individuals of all age groups -- 15.99 per 100,000 individuals vs. 10.87 per 100,000. Suicide rates were much higher among older men than older w...
