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Sections

Epidemiology | Risk Factors for Suicide in Older Adults | Psychiatric Illness | Psychological Factors | Physical Illness | Social Factors | Environmental Factors | Management of Suicide Risk | Conclusion | References

Excerpt

Suicide has ranked as the tenth leading cause of death in the United States for all ages since 2008 (Hedegaard et al. 2018). The risk of suicide in the elderly is substantial; suicide was the sixteenth leading cause of death for persons over the age of 65 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2018). An average of one older adult (> 65 years of age) dies from suicide every 1 hour and 4 minutes (Drapeau and McIntosh 2017). Older adults face many challenges that increase suicide risk, including psychiatric disorders, physical ailments, neurocognitive decline, financial stressors, retirement, advancing age associated with diminished functional capacity, death of partner/spouse, and the loss of social networks. Suicide risk assessment (SRA) using evidence-based risk and protective factors can identify older adults at low, moderate, or high risk to allow for timely and effective intervention.

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