FACTBOX - Depression the leading cause of suicide

(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday an 8 percent rise in the rate of suicides among children and young adults aged 10-24. Here are some key facts about suicide:

* Depression is the leading cause of suicide, U.S. health experts say.

* More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have suffered from depression, other mental illness or had a substance-abuse disorder, according to the National Institute on Mental Health.

* In 2004, suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, with 32,439 deaths, according to the CDC.

* Almost four times as many males as females die by suicide. Firearms are by far the favored method, with 57 percent of men and 32 percent of women using them to commit suicide.

* Suicide was the eighth leading cause of death for males and the 16th leading cause of death for females in 2004. It was the third leading cause of death among children and young adults aged 10 to 24.