Birth cohort analysis of changing suicide risk by sex and age in Sweden 1952 to 1981.

The study aims at exploring the sex and age shift in suicide in Sweden. Data from the Causes of Death Register comprising suicides occurring in 1952 to 1981 among persons born in 1877 to 1966 were included. Analysis of linear regression of cumulative suicide incidence in successive birth cohorts yielded a shift toward younger ages and a general increase in female suicide risk. The statistical suicide risk in the 20 to 24 male age group has increased 3.6 times. The male to female suicide risk sex ratio has decreased for those older than 45, while it has increased among young adults. There is an urgent need of explanatory studies.