Several published studies have indicated that children experiencing asphyxia during the perinatal period are at increased risk of subsequent adolescent suicide. However, these studies used retrospectively ascertained data and were unable to control for the adverse social conditions that often accompany perinatal difficulties. In the first phase of this project, the names of the approximately 55,000 children who were born during 1959-66 as subjects in the Collaborative Perinatal Project will be computerized. During the second phase, the computerized names and other appropriate identifying information will be submitted to the National Death Index, and all subjects who have died will be identified. In the third phase, the death certificates of these subjects will be obtained and cause of death recorded. Since the Collaborative Project collected extensive data about the subjects' prenatal, perinatal, and childhood histories, it will be possible to study prospectively the relationship between adverse perinatal events and subsequent risk of death, as well as cause of death.
