Suicide mortality among adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years in the Americas, 2000–2021: an analysis using the WHO Global Health Estimates

Suicide remains the third leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years in the Americas. We aimed to evaluate patterns and trends in suicide mortality among adolescents and young adults across the Americas from 2000 to 2021.

We used data from the WHO Global Health Estimates 2021 to estimate suicide mortality rates among individuals aged 10–24 years in 35 countries of the Americas, stratified by age, sex, and income. Temporal trends were assessed using average annual percentage change estimated through Joinpoint regression based on log-linear models of suicide mortality against calendar year.

In 2021, suicide accounted for an estimated 18,157 deaths (95% uncertainty interval 16,103–20,475) among adolescents and young adults in the Americas; 75% occurred among males. Suicide mortality increased by 1.48% per year (1.08–1.89; p < 0.0001), rising from 5.70 deaths (5.13–6.26) per 100,000 population in 2000 to 7.84 (6.95–8.84) per 100,000 in 2021. Patterns were heterogeneous, with widening disparities by sex, age, and geography. Suicide mortality rates increased with age and were nearly threefold higher among males than females, although temporal increases were higher among females. North America had the highest rates, fastest growth, and largest sex disparities. Hanging, strangulation, or suffocation accounted for 58.4% of deaths, followed by firearms (24.4%) and poisoning by drugs (4.5%).