Suicide risk and prevention in veteran populations
- 18 October 2010
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wiley in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 1208 (1), 98-103
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05697.x
Abstract
Rates of suicide among veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) rose significantly from 2005 to 2007, adding to existing concerns about veteran suicide risk by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This paper summarizes the available data about risk and rates of suicide in veterans, including the choice of appropriate comparison groups and the identification of risk factors. The data suggest that taking into account the selection bias of who enters the military (known as the healthy soldier effect), rates of suicide in veterans are higher than expected, especially among activity duty OEF/OIF veterans and even more so among those who experienced injuries and trauma. Thus, the experiences of war and the downstream sequelae, in particular the individuals' psychological reactions and societal responses, lead to suicide risk. This paper describes the VA's response to these data in developing and implementing suicide prevention interventions.Keywords
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- Risk and protective factors associated with suicidal ideation in veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi FreedomJournal of Affective Disorders, 2010
- Emerging treatments for PTSDClinical Psychology Review, 2009
- Suicidality and veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury: Precipitating events, protective factors, and prevention strategies.Rehabilitation Psychology, 2009
- Psychopharmacological Issues in the Treatment of TBI and PTSDThe Clinical Neuropsychologist, 2009
- Higher-risk periods for suicide among VA patients receiving depression treatment: Prioritizing suicide prevention effortsJournal of Affective Disorders, 2009
- An Evaluation of the Effect of Military Service on Mortality: Quantifying the Healthy Soldier EffectAnnals of Epidemiology, 2008
- A Preliminary Investigation of Suicidality in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Veterans with Traumatic Brain InjuryArchives of Suicide Research, 2008
- Evaluation of Gatekeeper Training for Suicide Prevention in VeteransArchives of Suicide Research, 2008
- Suicide among male veterans: a prospective population-based studyJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2007
- Variability of undetermined manner of death classification in the USInjury Prevention, 2006