Lethality of Suicide Method

Case Fatality Ratio by Method of Self-Harm, United States, 2001

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The table below illustrates the significantly higher likelihood of death in a suicide attempt using a firearm versus other methods. The “Percent Fatal” column shows the suicide “case fatality rate”: of those who attempt suicide using a given method, the percent who die in that attempt.

	Fatal	Nonfatal	Total	% Fatal
Firearm	16,869	2,980	19,849	85%
Suffocation	6,198	2,761	8,959	69%
Poisoning/overdose	5,191	215,814	221,005	2%
Fall	651	1434	2,085	31%
Cut/pierce	458	62,817	63,275	1%
Other	1,109	35,089	36,198	3%
Unspecified	146	2097	2,243	7%
Total	30,622	322,991	353,613	9%

This table covers all U.S. suicide deaths in 2001 and estimated visits to the emergency department (ED) for nonfatal self-harm (based on a nationally-representative sample of emergency departments). ”Case Fatality Ratio” (% fatal) is the proportion of cases recorded in a year that are fatal. The ED estimate overstates ED-treated suicide attempts because non-suicidal self-harm cannot be disaggregated from actual suicide attempts; at the same time,  it underestimates nonfatal suicide attempts since most suicide attempts do not result in  care.

Source: Vyrostek SB, Annest JL, Ryan GW. Surveillance for fatal and nonfatal injuries–United States, 2001. MMWR. 2004:53(SS07);1-57. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5307a1.htm