Investigated 2 cohorts of suicide & undetermined deaths for 1974-78 & 1979-83. A record linkage exercise relating deaths to admissions for alcoholism in the previous 5-10 yrs yielded 629 Ss. No differences were found between the cohorts in sociodemographic or clinical characteristics at initial admission. Survival time as measured from 1st admission or last discharge to death was appreciably longer in the 2nd quinquennium. This finding might reflect improved services for the care of alcoholics.