Dear Mr. Dad: I’ve read several of your columns that have touched on the health of men and boys, but you haven’t spent much time talking about mental health. Is male mental health different than females’?
A: Very different. Within the broader men’s health crisis, which, as you mention, I’ve written a lot about, there’s one area where differences between male and female mortality and morbidity are especially stark: mental health, the most visible manifestation of which is suicide.
Across all ages and ethnicities, American men commit suicide at far higher rates than women. According to the most recent CDC data, between the ages of 15 and 64, roughly 3.5x more men than women commit suicide. For those over 74, the difference is a startling 9.3:1. Overall, for males, suicide is the 7th leading cause of death. For females, it’s number 14.
The alarming disparity in suicides is undoubtedly driven by equally alarming disparities in the underlying mental-health conditions that lead to suicide itself, including depression and anxiety, psychosis, and especially substance abuse.
