Increasing Seasonality of Suicide in Australia 1970-1999

In order to explore whether suicide rates in Australia have a distinct annual rhythm & whether, as two European studies have recently suggested, the amplitude of this rhythm has decreased over time, the authors analyzed Australian Bureau of Statistics data on all suicides in Australia 1970-1999. They found that suicide, violent suicide & suicide by males are seasonal & that the seasonal amplitude has actually increased over time. The authors suggest possible explanations for this difference. (41 refs)