Chronic illness remains a major factor

Chronic or prolonged illness was the second-largest illness-related cause of suicide in 2024. It accounted for 14,705 deaths, or 46 per cent of all illness-related suicides, according to the report.

Cancer was linked to 1,232 suicides in 2024. More than half of cancer-linked suicides were reported from Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka. Maharashtra recorded 270 cancer-linked suicides in 2024, the highest among all states, though this was down from 405 cases in 2023.

Nationally, suicides linked to cancer declined by 14 per cent between 2023 and 2024. However, eight states and Union Territories reported an increase over the same period: Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Punjab, Goa and Chandigarh.

Karnataka recorded the sharpest rise among states, with cancer-linked suicides increasing by 66 per cent, from 76 in 2023 to 126 in 2024. Kerala recorded 250 such deaths, marginally up from 241 the previous year. Uttar Pradesh reported 90 cancer-linked suicides in 2024, a 25 per cent increase from 72 in 2023.

Overall illness-linked suicides fall, but not everywhere

Overall, suicides linked to illness fell by 6 per cent between 2023 and 2024. But 14 states and Union Territories registered an increase in illness-related suicides in 2024, the report said.

These included Odisha, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana.

Bihar recorded the steepest increase, with illness-related suicides rising more than six-fold, from 36 deaths in 2023 to 226 in 2024. In Jharkhand, such deaths increased by 36 per cent, from 132 to 179. Uttar Pradesh reported a 30 per cent rise, from 422 illness-related suicides in 2023 to 549 in 2024.

Decade-long rise

The long-term trend remains worrying. Between 2015 and 2024, at least 260,000 people died by suicide due to illness-related causes, according to NCRB estimates. During this period, the number of illness-related suicide deaths increased by nearly 45 per cent, from 21,178 in 2015 to 30,617 in 2024.