Sex differential for suicide among Austrian age cohorts

The suicide mortality data in Austria were studied over a period of four decades of continuous reporting. The data were studied for age, period and cohort effects. For the period 1951 to 1990 suicides among eight birth cohorts, born between 1932 and 1975, show a marked sex differential in time trends. Up to 1985, the rates increase in a constant manner for males in all age groups, in contrast to females. Results obtained using the Poisson regression models demonstrate a 35% (incidence rate ratio (IRR), 1.35%; 95% CI, 1.27-1.45) increased risk for male cohorts born later compared with those born earlier. The risk for later-born females was not increased (IRR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.91-1.17). Explanations such as improved living conditions for Austrian women remain tentative, however, as age, period and cohort effects cannot be separated as independent variables in the suicide mortality data available in Austria.