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Gender (material added to wikipedia paragraph)

Globally as of 2012, death by suicide occurs about 1.8 times more often in males than females. In the Western world, males die three to four times more often by means of suicide than do females. This difference is even more pronounced in those over the age of 65, with tenfold more males than females dying by suicide. Suicide attempts and self-harm are between two and four times more frequent among females. Researchers have attributed the difference between attempted and completed suicides among the sexes to males using more lethal means to end their lives. ''Both genders go through this horrific act unfortunately yet each gender has a unique way of attempts. Men typically have a more lethal attempts such as using firearms, hanging themselves, jumping, or the use of vehicle exhaustion gas. Women often choose to physically harm themselves with attempts including cutting on the main vessels in the body, poisoning themselves, drowning, and hanging themselves too. Although men have a higher risk of fatal attempts than women, the mens rate of suicidal attempts is lower than women. Women have a higher rate of suicidal attempts that don't become fatal than men do. This could be due to the fact that more women than men try to resolve their issues by trying out mental health therapy.'' However, separating intentional suicide attempts from non-suicidal self-harm is not currently done in places like the United States when gathering statistics at the national level.

''So why is it that women are more likely to attempt suicide yet men are more likely to actually die from it? At a young age boys are told to not cry or it will show a sign of weakness. That unfortunately is embedded in the male psyche and so when males are conflicted with their emotions and don’t know how to deal with them and become depressed because of it, they chose the dangerous route. Mothers tend to talk to their daughter more about feelings and unfortunately the son may fall through. While woman are more often to see a psychiatrist or therapist, men often self-medicate; drug abuse, substance abuse. In addition to why men are more likely to die by suicide than women are, men tend to be more proactive whereas women are more passive.''

China has one of the highest female suicide rates in the world and is the only country where it is higher than that of men (ratio of 0.9). In the Eastern Mediterranean, suicide rates are nearly equivalent between males and females. The highest rate of female suicide is found in South Korea at 22 per 100,000, with high rates in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific generally.

A number of reviews have found an increased risk of suicide among transgender, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Among transgender persons, rates of attempted suicide are about 40% compared to a general population rate of 5%. This is believed to in part be due to social stigmatisation.

Mental illness
See also: Antidepressants and suicide risk

In those with mental health problems, a number of treatments may reduce the risk of suicide. Those who are actively suicidal may be admitted to psychiatric care either voluntarily or involuntarily. Possessions that may be used to harm oneself are typically removed. Some clinicians get patients to sign suicide prevention contracts where they agree to not harm themselves if released. Evidence however does not support a significant effect from this practice. If a person is at low risk, outpatient mental health treatment may be arranged. Short-term hospitalization has not been found to be more effective than community care for improving outcomes in those with borderline personality disorder who are chronically suicidal.

Women are more prone to undergo depression more commonly than men. ''That being said, men still have high rates of depression as do women. But what exactly causes these genders to get to that mental health point? Women are known to be the caretakers of the family as well as managing their careers and maintaining their household. They also are in charge of their own health. Such priorities can drive a women to become overwhelmed and to question herself if she can handle everything at once. This is one of the many reasons why women endure depression. As for men, they are known to take care of the financial responsibility in the family. They are also perceived to by the strong, no crying, masculine man who can take on anything. Unfortunately, not all men are the same and for some this can be a burden. Such expected roles and responsibilities for men can alter their mental health and in worst cases, lead to suicide.''

There is tentative evidence that psychotherapy, specifically dialectical behaviour therapy, reduces suicidality in adolescents as well as in those with borderline personality disorder. It may also be useful in decreasing suicide attempts in adults at high risk. Evidence however has not found a decrease in completed suicides.

There is controversy around the benefit-versus-harm of antidepressants. In young persons, some antidepressants, such as SSRIs, appear to increase the risk of suicidality from 25 per 1000 to 40 per 1000. In older persons, however, they may decrease the risk. Lithium appears effective at lowering the risk in those with bipolar disorder and major depression to nearly the same levels as that of the general population. Clozapine may decrease the thoughts of suicide in some people with schizophrenia. Ketamine, which is a dissociative anaesthetic, seems to lower the rate of suicidal ideation. In the United States, health professionals are legally required to take reasonable steps to try to prevent suicide.

Age
In many countries, the rate of suicide is highest in the middle-aged or elderly. The absolute number of suicides however is greatest in those between 15 and 29 years old, due to the number of people in this age group. Worldwide, the average age of suicide is between age 30 and 49 for both men and women. This means that half of people who died by suicide were approximately age 40 or younger, and half were older. Suicidality is rare in children, but increases during the transition to adolescence.

In the United States, the suicide death rate is greatest in Caucasian men older than 80 years, even though younger people more frequently attempt suicide. It is the second most common cause of death in adolescents and in young males is second only to accidental death. For both genders, death by suicide is more common for those who are divorced or widowed. In young males in the developed world, it is the cause of nearly 30% of mortality. In the developing world rates are similar, but it makes up a smaller proportion of overall deaths due to higher rates of death from other types of trauma. In South-East Asia, in contrast to other areas of the world, deaths from suicide occur at a greater rate in young females than elderly females.