A new state study shows the suicide rate in Alaska has jumped in recent years.
There was a 13 percent increase in suicides between 2012 and 2017 compared to a similar period from 2007 to 2011, Alaska Public Media reported.
Suicide was the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 64, according to the analysis by state health officials.
The rates were highest in northern and southwestern communities. The largest increase, however, was along the state's Railbelt.
Also seeing a significant increase was the area covering Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The region had a 61 percent hike in suicides, compared to the earlier period.
Deborah Hull-Jilly, a state epidemiologist who worked on the report, is also starting a yearlong project with other researchers to determine why suicides have increased after several years of declines.