WASHINGTON — The Army recorded 115 soldiers' suicides in 2007, the highest total since it started counting in 1980, the service announced yesterday. That's more than twice the 52 suicides in 2001.

The five-year war in Iraq is driving up the number of suicides, said Col. Elspeth Ritchie, a psychiatric consultant to the Army surgeon general.

Army records showed that 65 percent of the suicides were related to broken relationships and that 37 percent of the suicides came within 30 days of the end of those relationships. Multiple combat deployments of up to 15 months hurt those relationships, Ritchie said.

"When those relationships break," said Col. Charles Reese, a chaplain, "it tends to be a strong contributing factor to the consideration of death as an option."

Though the Army declined to release suicide statistics for 2008, Lt. Col. Thomas E. Languirand said those deaths are "approximately the same as they were" this time last year.

The increased suicides came despite the hiring of more mental health specialists and more money for family support programs. The Army approved the hiring of more than 300 additional mental health professionals and has hired 180 of them.

"The Army is very, very busy, and perhaps we haven't taken care of each other as much as we'd like to," Ritchie said.

The 115 deaths amount to a rate of 18.5 suicides per 100,000 soldiers — the highest rate since 1980, the Army said.

The civilian suicide rate was 19.5 per 100,000 in 2005, according to the latest statistics available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 115 deaths, five were women, 22 were from the National Guard or Army Reserve, and 93 were active-duty Army. Thirty-two suicides occurred in Iraq and four in Afghanistan. About 25 percent of those who committed suicide had never deployed.

There were also 935 attempted suicides in 2007, slightly fewer than the 948 attempts in 2006.

Hawai'i Sen. Daniel Akaka called the finding "alarming and cause for immediate action by the government as a whole."

In response to the report, the Democrat has asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to work with the Department of Defense to address the problem.

Akaka said that working together, VA and DOD could develop a serious plan to deal with the increase in the number of cases. He said the cost of untreated mental health needs includes the dissolution of families, unemployment, homelessness and suicide.

Suicide rates among Marines have also risen during the Iraq war, records show. Marine suicides rose from 23 in 2002 to 33 last year, or a rate of 12.5 per 100,000 to 16.5 per 100,000.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.