Sex-specific suicide trends in Canada, 1971-1985

The present study analysed changes in sex-specific suicide rates in Canada from 1971 to 1985. A significant increase in the male-to-female ratio of suicide rates was observed. Our analysis of sex-specific age-adjusted rates revealed that this increasing ratio was a function of both increasing male rates and decreasing female rates, but that the latter was more marked. This divergence of male and female rates within the last decade and a half parallels similar changes noted both in the US and in the majority of European countries, but contrasts with a pattern of converging rates throughout North America and much of Europe prior to 1970.