Young people in rural U.S. communities are more likely than those in urban areas to commit suicide — and the gap is rising, a new study has found.

The study, which was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found that suicide is now twice as frequent in young rural Americans than those in urban areas, according to a Reuters report.

Authorities hypothesize this may be due to a lack of mental health services, isolation, better access to guns, and poor economic conditions than those who live in urban areas, according to the report.

Suicide is currently the third leading cause of death among people between 10 and 24 years of age, killing 66,595 people in that age bracket between 1996 and 2010.

About 20 young males per 100,000 in rural areas commit suicide each year, compared to just 10 per 100,000 in urban areas. For females, the rate is 4 per 100,000 versus 2 in urban areas.

There has been about a 59 percent increase in the gap between rural and urban males and a 93 percent increase between rural and urban females.

But it doesn’t appear to be because suicide rates in rural communities are increasing. Rather, they appear stagnant, while urban suicides are declining.

Although researchers attempt to account for differences in healthcare access and economic factors, it may still be more difficult for those in rural areas to get access to mental health, which may result in the wider gap. Also, there is a higher stigma against mental health in rural areas.

A correlating factor handgun ownership, which, like the suicide rate, has stayed constant in rural areas but has declined in urban areas. Having more access to lethal methods of suicide may have helped expand the gap, authorities speculate.

As far as solutions, the research team suggested integrating mental health services into primary care visits to deal with access problems. And telemedicine may increase the access rural populations have to mental health services.