Suicide rates in the US have risen for the first time in more than a decade. The suicide rate in the US dropped each year from 1986 to 1999; however, in 1999 this trend shifted. Between 1999 and 2005, the suicide rate increased 0.7 percent annually. The shift is largely the result of an increase in suicides among middle-aged white men and women. Because this population is also at risk of suicide during an economic downturn, experts worry that the current economic crisis will result in a further spike in the suicide rate.