Covariation of Suicides and Undetermined Deaths Among Elderly Persons: a Methodological Study

This article examines the theory that many suicides by elderly persons are mistakenly classified as unknown or natural deaths. The authors test the hypothesis that changes in one category of causes of death might explain corresponding changes in another category. They found the incidence of the unclear causes of death increased markedly for those age groups exhibiting declining suicide figures. They conclude suicide in the aged is underestimated. (VM)