Spike in suicides among middle-aged Americans

WASHINGTON: Suicide rates are rising dramatically among middle-aged Americans, according to US government statistics, which showed a 28 percent spike from a decade ago in the number of people taking their own lives.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the figures show more people taking their own lives than dying in car accidents, and attribute the increase to the sharp rise in suicides among adults aged aged 35 to 64.

The number of Americans in that age range who took their own lives grew from 13.7 per 100,000 people in 1999, to 17.6 per 100,000 in 2010 -- an alarming 28 percent increase, the agency said. The rise was most dramatic among those in their 50s -- the tail-end of the so-called "Baby Boomer" generation born after World War II -- who saw a nearly 50 percent jump in suicides.

"Suicide is a tragedy that is far too common," said CDC Director Tom Frieden. "This report highlights the need to expand our knowledge of risk factors so we can build on prevention programs."

In 2010, an average of nearly 18 out of every 100,000 people aged 35-64 died from suicide -- four more than a decade earlier, the CDC said. So prevalent is suicide that it kills even more Americans than car accidents, according to the CDC. In 2010, motor vehicle accidents killed 33,687 people, while 38,364 died from suicide that year, according to the CDC, the government agency tasked with providing research and recommendations on US health and safety.

Among non-Hispanic whites and Native Americans, annual suicide rates leaped 40 percent and 65 percent, respectively. Nearly three times as many men as women in this age group killed themselves: around 27 men compared to eight women per 100,000 in 2010. And the CDC found that, while most suicides were committed with guns, the number of people dying from suffocation and hanging rose the fastest -- by more than 80 percent -- over the last decade.