A new study reveals suicide rates in middle-aged Americans increased in the years after 2007.

The study released by The American Journal of Preventative Medicine made a connection between the increase in suicide and the economic crisis after 2007.

The number of Americans aged 40 to 64 who commit suicide has risen 40 percent since 1999. The suicide rates for this age group has continued to increase after the financial crisis.

Other age groups in comparison have lower suicide rates than in the past.

Other studies have made the same connection as this current study. A 2014 study published in The British Journal of Psychiatry calculated that the Great Recession was associated with an additional 10,000 suicides in North America and Europe from 2008 to 2010. However, these were often broader studies.

The American Journal of Preventative Medicine examined the specific middle-age group for the study.

"Middle aged adults are more likely than others to be family breadwinners and supporting dependents," the authors of the study wrote.

Between 2005 and 2010, the proportion of suicides increased among this age group from 32.9 percent in 2005 to 37.5 percent of completed suicide in 2010.

"I hope that this raises awareness about the potential impact of economic crises on mental health," said Julie Phillips, a sociology professor at Rutgers and one of the authors of the study. "I think when there's a natural disaster, we marshal help to health crisis counseling, and perhaps we need to think about a similar approach when dealing with an economic crisis."

The particular manner of suicide also saw an increase. The use of suffocation to end their life increased 59.5 percent among those aged 40-64 years between 2005 and 2010. This is compared with 18 percent for those aged 15-39 years and 27.2 percent for those aged over 65 years.This manner of suicide was often used in suicides related to job, economic, or legal factors and is more often used by those aged 40-64 years old in general.

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