Media Advisory

CDC Releases Violent Death Statistics

What:

CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) presents in-depth findings on homicide and suicide from 16 states for 2007. Results are based on the most comprehensive data on violent deaths available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). Involvement of intimate partner conflict; mental health problems, diagnosis, or treatment; and drug or alcohol use at the time of death are among the pieces of information collected and compiled by this unique system. 

Key Findings:

According to NVDRS, there were 4,563 homicides/ deaths due to law enforcement actions and 9,245 suicides in 16 U.S. states during 2007.

Suicide

• Suicide rates were higher among American Indians/Alaska Natives and non-Hispanic whites and highest among persons aged 45-54 years, which marks a shift in the age group. Persons over the age of 80 have typically had the highest rates of suicide in the United States.
  • Problems related to mental health, jobs, finances, or relationships might have contributed to the high rates of suicide in this age group. Mental health and/or substance-abuse problems, relationship problems and losses, and recent crises were frequent precipi­tants for suicide. These factors have been documented in other studies as important risk factors for suicide.

Homicide

• Homicide rates were more than three times higher among males than females. However, approximately one in three homicides of females is committed by a current or former spouse or partner. Among male homicide victims, approximately 5 percent are killed by intimate partners.
• Non-Hispanic blacks accounted for the majority of homicide deaths and had the highest rate of homicide of any racial/ethnic group.
  • The findings of this report indicate that male homicide decedents were more likely to be killed following arguments or conflicts with persons other than an intimate partner or for other reasons (e.g., crime or drug-related) whereas more than half of homicides involving a female victim involved intimate-partner–related violence.

Special topics

• Suicides among former or current military personnel occurred primarily among males, non-Hispanic whites and persons over 45 years of age, and were largely precipitated by physical or mental health problems, intimate partner problems or a crisis in the past two weeks.
  • Specifically, a physical health problem was listed more frequently as a life stressor for suicides of former or current military personnel as compared to the civilian population (37 percent versus 21 percent).

What the Statistics Tell Us:

Information in this report provides some important clues to focus prevention efforts.  The primary precipitating factors for many of these deaths include relationship problems, interpersonal conflicts, mental health problems, and recent crises. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing social problem solving and coping skills to deal with stressful life events, health and financial problems, or other problems that occur within interpersonal relationships. For those suffering from mental health and substance abuse problems, the findings also highlight the importance of reaching out to those in need, reducing the stigma of mental illness, and increasing the accessibility of treatment.

Where:

You can access the report online, at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwr_ss/ss_cvol.html.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES