North America: Call for clinical and community interventions
High suicide rate among military veterans, says report
Male veterans in the general US population are twice as likely as their civilian peers to die by suicide, a large study shows. Most previous studies on suicide among veterans relied on data from those who receive care from the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] system, yet most veterans do not get their care from this source, says the National Institute of Mental Health.
This new study differs because it included 320,890 men aged 18 and older in the general population, 104,026 of them veterans, whom researchers followed for 12 years. Those at highest risk of suicide were white, had at least 12 years of education, or whose daily life activities were limited by health problems. Those who were overweight had a lower risk.
By the end of the study, 197 of the veterans had died by suicide. In the same period, the risk of death from other causes was the same in the veterans as in civilians. Notably, compared to civilian men who died by suicide, veterans were 58 per cent more likely to use a firearm to end their lives.
The researchers report that veterans in the general US population, whether or not they are affiliated with the VA, are at an elevated risk of suicide.
Researchers also noted that the number of veterans with limitations on their daily life activities – one of the higher risk factors for suicide – is likely to rise.
They suggest that clinical and community interventions will be needed, and call for clinicians to be alert for signs that veterans might be contemplating suicide and to assess their access to firearms.
For more details visit the national Institute's website at: www.nimh.nih.gov.
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