A government report says the rate of suicide among middle-aged Arkansans rose by more than 50 percent percent from 1999 to 2010.
The Centers for Disease Control reported Thursday that there were 144 suicides among the 35-64 age group in 1999 for a rate of 14.8 suicides per 100,000 population. The report says there were 245 suicides in that age group in 2010 for a rate of 22.8 per 100,000 and an increase of 54.2 percent over the decade.
The CDC report is based on death certificates and says people ages 35 to 64 account for about 57 percent of suicides.
Nationwide the suicide rate among middle-aged Americans rose 28 percent during the decade, a period that included the recession and the mortgage crisis.