Birth month and depressive and suicidal symptoms in an elderly Australian sample born in the Southern or Northern Hemisphere

We examined the relationship between season of birth and depressive and suicidal symptoms among 859 elderly outpatients. Date and country of birth were recorded for each participant. Those in utero during the Northern or Southern Hemisphere flu peak were expected to show the highest depressive and suicidal symptoms. Hypotheses were partially supported. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.