This study was conducted to examine long-term trends in suicide mortality in Taiwan, 1959-2006 & to analyze the effect of age, time period, & cohort. Suicide mortality was calculated using official vital statistics data. An ubiquitous period effect on suicide mortality in both genders across all age groups was observed, with peak rates in early 1960s & early 1980s & an unpward trend since the mid-1990s. Suicide mortality increased with age & evidence for an age-by-period interaction was found. Over the past decade, the sharpest increase in suicide mortality was found in middle-aged men. Evidence of cohort effects was less clear, & suicide risk of different cohorts appeared to be associated with period- & age-specific social environmental conditions. (30 refs.) JA