Pure Elderly Suicide Rates Versus Combined Pure Elderly Suicide, Accidental and Undetermined Death Rates: Methodological Issues in Cross-National Studies

The relationship between pure elderly suicide rates & rates of accidental deaths & undetermined deaths in the elderly across different countries was examined using Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Complete data sets were available for 49 countries. There was no significant correlation between pure suicide rates & rates of accidental deaths & undetermined deaths in males, aged 65-74 years. There were positive correlations between pure suicide rates & rates of accidental deaths & undetermined deaths in males, aged 75+ years, females aged 65-75 years, & females aged 75+ years. (4 refs.)