[Epidemiology of suicide]

1. Nationwide surveys in single countries concerning epidemiology of suicide are in fact valuable despite serious doubts often mentioned against them. 2. From the beginning of this century until the 1980's there has been an almost continuous increase in the number of suicides in males. Since the end of the 1950's the figure of female suicide has risen in various countries as well, although the situation is not the same everywhere. 3. Denmark proved to be the country with the highest suicide rate within the European Community, whereas it is Hungary in Eastern Europe. The former GDR had rates above the average in 1988-90. Extraordinarily low rates were seen in Greece, Spain, Ireland and Italy. 4. The elderly tended to have increasing rates in most countries--with the exception of regional varieties in connection with drug abuse and alcoholism as well as unemployment. 5. Suicides in psychiatric clinics demonstrated a rise worldwide--studies carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany reported of such suicides having doubled since the beginning of the 1970's. 6. Vast regional differences in major cities of the FRG had been described in the 60's and 70's. In the former GDR there were strong discrepancies between various regions in 1988-90. Those data are not explainable yet.