This study reviewed the changes that have occurred in suicide rates in England & Wales between 1960 & 1997. Suicide rates decreased in both genders between the early 1960s & the mid-1970s. The rate for males then increased between 1975-1990, while the rate for females continued to fall. Between 1990-1997, the rate decreased for males & females in all age groups, particularly for those using motor vehicle exhaust gas; the latter finding is associated with the increasing use of catalytic converters. (16 refs.)