Year: 2010 Source: International Journal of Epidemiology, v.39, no.6, (December 2010), p.1464-1475 SIEC No: 20110056

The authors investigated age-, gender-, & method-specific trends in suicide in England & Wales, 1861-2007. Rates in males were consistently higher than females throughout the 19th & 20th centuries, although the male-to-female ratio fluctuated from 4:1 in the 1880s to 1.5:1 in the 1960s. Suicide rates increased in all age groups in the 1930s, coinciding with the Great Depression. The highest male rates were recorded in 1905 & 1934 & have since been declining. Female rates peaked in the 1960s, declining afterwards. Changes in the acceptability & lethality of various suicide methods may account for the large variations in gender ratios over time. (34 refs.) JA

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