(PS13-8) Methods of Suicide Deaths in Northeast Ohio

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), suicide is a significant but preventable public health problem responsible for the deaths of around 700,000 people worldwide every year (Garnett et al., 2022). Death by suicide is dependent mainly on the lethality of the method, ranging from firearms with 90% lethality to cutting with 0.7% lethality (Turecki et al., 2019). According to the literature, women are more likely to die from nonviolent means (e.g., drugs or carbon monoxide poisoning); in contrast, men are more likely to use violent means (e.g., firearms or hanging) (Barber & Miller, 2014). The present study examines the methods by which people die by suicide to identify trends across highly relevant categories.

Data for this study consists of the confirmed suicides (aged 12 to 94) in a large county in a Midwestern state from the 1^st of September 2022 to the 31^st of August 2023 (n = 189, M_Age = 47 (SD20) years). Demographic characteristics (i.e., biological sex, race/ethnicity, age, and method of suicide) were collected based on available county medical examiner data. Age was separated into four groups: adolescents/emerging adults, 12 to 24 (11.1%); young adults, 25 to 44 (33.9%); middle-aged adults, 45 to 64 (31.7%); and older adults, 65+ (19.6%). The methods of suicide were classified by ICD-10 codes using (a) firearms, (b) hanging, (c) overdose, (d) cutting, and (e) other (i.e., unspecified). A series of analyses were used to determine if there is a significant relationship between gender and age when compared to the method of suicide. Chi-squared analyses demonstrate that sex and method of suicide have a significant difference (X² (4) = 26.95, p < .001), whereas race (X² (12) = 17.67, p = .126) and ethnicity (X² (4) = 5.56, p = .244) were not significantly different with methods of suicide. Further, there was a significant difference between genders for firearms (X² (1) = 9.90, p = .002) and overdose (X² (1) = 21.24, p < .001). Specifically, 59.6% of males and 33.3% of females in this study used firearms as their primary method of suicide. Whereas 29.2% of females and 5% of males used drugs to overdose as their primary method. When examining age and method of suicide, young adults (aged 25 to 44) were significantly (X² (1) = 5.50, p = .019) different with hanging as a method of suicide compared to firearms, overdose, cutting, and others. Older adults (aged 65+) were significantly (X² (1) = 4.91, p = .027) different with suicide by cutting when compared to the other methods of suicide.

This study confirms prior research that nonviolent suicide methods (i.e., overdose) are more often utilized by women compared to men. Further, violent suicide means (i.e., firearms) were more often used by men than women. Individuals between the ages of 25 and 44 utilized hanging more often than firearms, overdose, cutting, and others. Whereas older adults (i.e., aged 65+) were more likely to utilize cutting as their method of suicide. Accurate prevention requires accurate prediction. This study aids in the implementation of prevention strategies that are tailored to meet the specific needs of those at risk for suicide. Future directions may consider the socioeconomic status of decedents to determine if there is any predictability to suicide.