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not this time, they fixed that 1929 thing . . .
May 2, 2013
Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in U.S.
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Suicide rates among middle-age Americans have risen sharply in the past decade, prompting concern that a generation of baby boomers who have faced years of economic worry and easy access to prescription pain killers may be particularly vulnerable to self-inflicted harm.
More people now die of suicide than car accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the findings in the May 3 issue of its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Suicide has typically been viewed as a problem of teenagers and the elderly, and the surge in suicide rates among middle-age Americans is surprising.
From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent, to 17.6 deaths per 100,000 population, up from 13.7. Although suicide rates are growing among both middle-age men and women, far more men take their own lives. The suicide rate for middle-age men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000.
The most pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50s, a group in which suicide rates jumped by nearly 50 percent, to about 30 per 100,000. For women, the largest increase was seen in those ages 60 to 64, among whom rates increased by nearly 60 percent, to 7.0 per 100,000.
C.D.C. officials cited a number of possible explanations for the rise in suicide rates, including that this generation posted higher rates of suicide during the adolescent years compared with other cohorts.
“It is the baby boomer group where we see the highest rates of suicide,” said the C.D.C.'s deputy director, Ileana Arias. “There may be something about that group, and how they think about life issues and their life choices that may make a difference.”
The rise in suicide may also stem from the economic downturn over the past decade. Historically, suicide rates rise during times of financial stress and economic setbacks. “The increase does coincide with a decrease in financial standing for a lot of families over the same time period,” said Dr. Arias.
Another factor may be the widespread availability of opioid drugs like OxyContin and oxycodone, which can be particularly deadly in an overdose.
Dr. Arias noted that the higher suicide rates might be due to a series of life and financial circumstances that are unique to the baby boom generation. Men and women in that age group are often coping with the stress of caring for aging parents at the same time they are still providing financial and emotional support for adult children.
“Their lives are configured a little differently than it has been in the past for that age group,” Dr. Arias said. “It may not be that they are more sensitive or that they have a predisposition to suicide, but that they may be dealing with more.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/he...gewanted=print
If we are lucky.. 
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