Suicide Suicide is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States. There are about 11.2 suicides per 100,000 people. It accounts for approximately the same number of deaths, as AIDS does each year. There are approximately 775,000 attempts in the United States each year. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that there are 8- 25 suicide attempts for each actual completion of suicide. It is estimated that 5 million living Americans have attempted to kill themselves. The suicide rate varies with different age groups. The elderly have the highest suicide rate, especially older white males. White men over the age of 85 have a suicide rate of six times th