Americans' life expectancy rates are at a record high, but suicide rates are on the rise, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released on Wednesday.

The study, which looked at 2012 U.S. mortality data, found Americans are expected to live longer than ever: life expectancy from birth reached 78.8 years, a .01 increase from the previous year. As was the case in 2011, women were expected to live longer than men by 4.8 years. Part of the reason why life expectancy has increased is because of the decreasing infant mortality rate, or the rate of infant deaths to live births per year.

“We continue to follow the pattern that we have been seeing for a few decades, where life expectancy is gradually increasing and death rates from the leading causes of death are decreasing,” Elizabeth Arias, a CDC demographer told Bloomberg News.

Despite these promising findings, researchers found the rate for suicide increased 2.4 percent. This is the highest it’s been in more than 25 years, The Associated Press reported. The suicide rate is now 12.6 suicide deaths per 100,000 Americans, which is close to the rate of 12.8 in 1987.

Some research indicates that suicide rates increase during tough economic times, yet the report showed increases in suicides before, during and after the 2007-2009 recession, said the AP. Others believe that a surge in the abuse of prescription painkillers could be an important factor.

Out of all the top ten causes of death, which remained the same from 2011 the 2012, suicide was the only one that increased. Cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, influenza and kidney disease all dropped. The death rates for unintentional injuries remained the same.