title: Influence of cohort effects on patterns of suicide in England and Wales, 1950-1999.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Age- and gender-specific suicide rates in England and Wales have changed considerably since 1950.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether cohort effects underlie some of these changes.
  
  
  METHODS
  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 risk of 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 overall male suicide rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, UK. D.J.Gunnell@Bristol.ac.uk
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gunnell
authors.forename: Nicos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Middleton
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Whitley
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dorling
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frankel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015988:Cohort Effect; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology