Suicide mortality in Canada and Quebec, 1926-2008: An age-period-cohort analysis

Abstract

This study examines the effects of age, period, and cohort (APC) on male and female suicide risk in Canada from 1926 to 2008. The effects of these factors are also compared between Quebec and the rest of Canada. Both descriptive and APC intrinsic estimator (IE) analyses are used to study variations in suicide rates over this time period. For Canadian males, the risk of suicide is found to increase until age 25 and then level off, whereas among females, the pattern of risk with age forms an inverted "U" shape, with rates peaking in mid-adulthood. Period effects on suicide reached a maximum in the mid-1970s in Canada and approximately a decade later in Quebec; thereafter, in both contexts, suicide rates declined. Cohort effects on suicide are especially pronounced among Quebec males comprising baby-boomer cohorts as well as those belonging to Generation X cohorts. Significant cohort effects are also noted for females, particularly among those born after 1980. These results are interpreted within the framework of Durkheimian theory.