Older adult suicide deaths rose across the Americas
Total deaths rose from 13,567 in 2000 to 27,792 in 2023, while regional rates shifted slightly from 14.46 to 14.95 per 100,000.
International Psychogeriatrics
In adults aged 60 and older across 38 countries and territories in the Americas, researchers evaluated suicide mortality patterns from 2000 to 2023 using Global Burden of Disease estimates and PAHO/WHO records. Men had 5.22 times the adjusted mortality rate of women, and rates were highest at the oldest ages. Firearms accounted for 47.8% of registered method-specific deaths. While high-income countries saw rising rates, upper-middle- and lower-middle-income nations saw declines; mortality rose in the United States but fell in Canada. Regional GDP-related inequalities were heavily driven by North America: the Relative Index of Inequality was 2.40 across the entire region but attenuated to 1.06 after excluding the United States and Canada.
Why it matters
As the global population ages, identifying demographic and geographic disparities in late-life mortality helps public health systems direct targeted mental healthcare and social safety nets.
Caveats
The findings rely on an ecological design and national death-registry data, which may vary in reporting practices and cause-of-death coding across countries.
The paper
Suicide mortality among older adults in the Americas, 2000-2023
World Health Organization Regional Office for the Americas
International Psychogeriatrics · 26 Sep 2026