Suicide and self-harm among older Australians

Released by AIHW on Wednesday, 28 August 2024

The following summary is based on data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) from the National Suicide and Self-Harm Monitoring System (the System): Suicide and self-harm among older Australians.

The System was established as part of the national effort to address suicide and self-harm in Australia by improving the quality, accessibility and timeliness of data on deaths by suicide and on self-harming and suicidal behaviours.

For guidance on reporting on suicide and self-harm data, please refer to the Mindframe quick reference guide.

What is included in the release?

Data released by AIHW includes information on older Australians (aged 65 years and over, unless otherwise specified) relating to:

• Ambulance attendances for self-harm and suicidal behaviours
• Intentional self-harm hospitalisations
• Monitoring data on suicide.

Monitoring data in this report use both age-standardised and age-specific rates to measure suicide and intentional self-harm over time.

Technical notes provide more detailed information about the release, including information about data sources, codes, and analysis methods.

What are the key findings?

• The suicide rate for older Australians has decreased over time and remains lower than younger Australians:
  • Before the 1990s, older Australians generally had higher age-standardised rates of suicide than younger Australians.
  • From the early 1990s onwards, age-standardised suicide rates among older Australians declined and have remained lower than younger Australians.

• Intentional self-harm (suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harming behaviours) hospitalisations among older Australians are lower than younger Australians, based on data between 2008-09 and 2022-23:
  • On average, the age-standardised rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations was 3.5 times higher among younger Australians compared to older Australians.

• Ambulance attendances for self-harm are lower among older Australians compared to younger Australians, based on data from March 2018 to June 2023 in NSW, VIC, TAS, and ACT combined:
  • The age-specific rates among older Australians remained steady between 2018 and 2023 for suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and self-injury ambulance attendances.
  • Older men experienced suicidal thinking around 1.4 times higher when compared with older women.

What does this mean for policy and practice?

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, adults over the age of 65 years make up around 17% of the Australian population. Although the age-standardised and age-specific rate of suicide among older Australians has decreased over time, the total number of suicides in this population group has increased, reflecting the overall increase in the Australian population. Older Australians are identified as a priority population under the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement as they are at higher risk of mental health concerns and suicide.

Older Australians are a diverse population group and are often exposed to a range of risk factors that may increase their risk of suicidal distress such as social isolation, loneliness, grief and bereavement, decline in physical and mental health, loss of independence and perceived burdensomeness. Enhancing protective factors such as maintaining physical and mental health, creating strong and meaningful social and community connections and reducing the experiences of loneliness are ways to reduce suicidal distress and suicide in older Australians.^1,2

By better understanding the data available in relation to suicide and self-harm among older Australians, we can better inform suicide prevention policy and practice. Older Australians experience unique factors that contribute to increased risk of suicidal distress and therefore require specific and targeted approaches to preventing suicidal distress and suicide deaths within this population.