Midlife suicide surge baffles experts

"A new five-year analysis of the nation's death rates recently released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the suicide rate among 45- to 54-year-olds increased nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2004, the latest year studied, far outpacing changes in nearly every other age group. (All figures are adjusted for population.)

For women 45 to 54, the rate leapt 31 percent. "That is certainly a break from trends of the past," said Ann Haas, research director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

By contrast, the suicide rate for 15- to 19-year-olds increased less than 2 percent during that five-year period -- and decreased among people 65 and older.

The question is why. What happened in 1999 that caused the suicide rate to suddenly rise primarily for those in midlife?

The lack of concrete research has given rise to all kinds of theories, including a sudden drop in the use of hormone-replacement therapy by menopausal women after health warnings in 2002, higher rates of depression among baby boomers or a simple statistical fluke.

At the moment, the prime suspect is the skyrocketing use -- and abuse -- of prescription drugs. During the same five-year period included in the study, there was a staggering increase in the total number of drug overdoses, both intentional and accidental, such as the one that killed the 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger. Illicit drugs also increase risky behaviors, CDC officials point out, noting that users' rates of suicide can be 15 to 25 times as great as the general population."

Read the whole article by Patricia Cohen of the New York Times here.