Influence of cohort effects on patterns of suicide in England and Wales, 1950-1999

Background Age- and gender-specific suicide rates in England and Wales have changed considerably since 1950. Aims To assess whether cohort effects underlie some of these changes. Method Graphical displays to assess age- period-cohort effects on suicide for the period 1950-1999. Results Successive male birth cohorts born after 1940 carried with them, as they aged, a greater risk of suicide than their predecessors although this effect diminished for the 1975 and 1980 birth cohorts. There was less clear evidence of any increased riskof suicide in post-war female birth cohorts. Conclusions Succeeding generations of males born in the post-war years have experienced increasing rates of suicide at all ages, an observation in keeping with patterns seen in other countries. If these trends continue into middle- and old-age they will lead to a great increase in over-all male suicide rates.