Suicide Rates in Middle-Aged U.S. Adults Rose Sharply During the Last Decade

From 1999 to 2010, annual age-adjusted suicide rates among people aged 35 to 64 increased 28% (from 13.7 to 17.6 per 100,000 people), according to a CDC analysis of national mortality data. Among adults in their 50s, the rate rose nearly 50%.

Although overall suicide rates were lower among women than men, increases in these rates generally paralleled one another in both sexes. Nonetheless, suicide rates rose most markedly among women aged 60 to 64 (almost 60%), suggesting a new vulnerability among middle-aged and older women. Rates were 3 to 4 times higher (and proportional increases were greater) among white and American Indian/Alaska Native women than among black and Latina women.