[Suicidal acts in advanced age].

Geriatric suicides and attempted suicides differ from those of other age groups in a number of major characteristics: the suicide rate increases with age, while attempted suicides decrease; the lethality of the method selected increases with advancing age; the motivations of the elderly differ from those of younger suicides; psychiatric problems are more severe in the aged. Our own investigations were based on the data on suicide in West Germany collected between 1979 and 1987. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, and conclusions drawn on how to prevent suicide and how to treat attempted suicides in the aged.