[The 40-year-old "Gotland Study"].

Forty years have passed since the inception of the groundbreaking Gotland Study in 1983. The short- and long-term results of the study caused a turn in suicide prevention since they showed that, in addition to psychiatrists, general practitioners have also an important role in decreasing suicidal mortality of subjects with depression. Further investigators conducted in larger populations and involving the media and other "gatekeepers" than general practitioners had similar conclusions. The current paper summarizes the results of the Gotland Study as well as attempts to dissipate the misundersandings and misconceptions, of the results.