Veterans were more likely to report past-year suicidal ideation, plans and suicide attempts compared to nonveterans, but they were less likely to attribute their suicide-related experiences to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study.
Frailty in Older Veterans Associated With Greater Suicide Attempt Risk
Veterans who are 65 and older and have symptoms of frailty are at increased risk of attempting suicide, and those with lower levels of frailty were found to have greater risk of suicide death, according to a new study.
Genetics Play a Role in Severe PTSD in Some Deployed Soldiers
The risk for specific soldiers to have severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to far predate their deployment. In fact, some military personnel are born with it, according to a new study.
VAMCs Struggle to Find Mental Health Staffers for Primary Care
For years, VA has been working to integrate mental healthcare into primary care and requires facilities serving at least 5,000 veterans annually to have a mental health provider available within primary care settings.
Vitamin D Supplementation Shows Promise for Reducing Suicide Risk
Supplementation with Vitamin D appeared to be associated with a reduced risk of suicide attempt and self-harm in veterans, especially those who are Black and have low blood serum levels, according to a VA-funded study.
Veterans With Parkinson’s Disease at Higher Risk of Suicide
A Parkinson’s Disease (PD) diagnosis has been shown to increase patients’ risk of suicide, according to a new study.
Identified: Genes Associated With Risk of Suicidal Thoughts in Veterans
Multiple genes linked to an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in U.S. military veterans have been identified, according to a new study.
VHA Mental Health Staffing Levels Affect Suicide-Related Events in Veterans
VHA facilities appear to have limited staff who can provide mental health care services, and increasing mental health staffing could reduce suicide-related events in veterans, according to a new study.
OIG: Protocols to Help Prevent Suicides Not Always Followed at VA
Despite suicide prevention being a top priority at VA, clinicians are failing to consistently ask patients at risk for suicide about their access to guns.
DoD and VA Update Guideline for Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Expansion of interventional psychiatry and updated algorithms to help guide physicians in making choices about therapies for depression are among important updates included in the newly revised 2022 VA-DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Major Depressive Disorder.
Grants Could Help Lower Suicides Among Native American Veterans
VA recently announced that it has awarded $52 million in grants to 80 community-based organizations to deliver or coordinate suicide prevention programs and services for veterans and their family members.
VA Announces Decrease in Veteran Suicide Rate for Second Year
For the second year in a row, veteran suicides decreased in 2020, and fewer veterans died by their own hand in 2020 than in any year since 2006, according to the VA.
Nonprofit Group: VA Undercounted Thousands of Veteran Suicides
The same week that VA announced a decrease in the national veteran suicide rate, early results from an independent study suggested that the department has been drastically undercounting the total number of veteran suicides for years.
Veterans Receiving Cancer Diagnoses Have Increased Suicide Risks
Research has shown that a cancer diagnosis is associated with an increased risk of suicide, which might be attributed in part to factors such as interpersonal struggles, hopelessness, physical pain and strain, financial distress and relationship changes.
Kearney Tries to Get Troubled Veterans to Talk About Suicide Concerns
Most of the career of Lisa Kearney, PhD, at the VA has revolved around reducing the stigma associated with mental healthcare and increasing access for veterans who need it.
VA Tries to Address Societal Factors Leading to Veteran Suicides
For decades, VA’s response to preventing veteran suicide has been focused almost exclusively on healthcare, specifically mental healthcare.
Study Finds Alarmingly High Suicide Rates Among AI/AN VHA Patients
American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) in the general population have the highest rates of suicide of all race groups in the United States, as well as the most rapidly growing suicide rates, according to a new study.
Are DoD’s Suicide Prevention Efforts Failing? Some Legislators Think So
When it comes to suicide prevention, is the DoD putting its time and money in the right place? That was the question asked at a recent House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee hearing.
Adding Lithium Doesn’t Reduce Suicide-Related Events in Veterans
For more than a decade, suicide rates have been consistently higher among veterans than non-veterans, and, since 2005, the suicide rate has risen faster among veterans than it has for nonveteran adults.
History of Self-Injury Linked to Higher Suicide Risk Among Veterans
The VA has put significant focus on reducing veteran suicide rates over the last decades. But what about those who hurt themselves while stopping short of taking their own lives?
What Soldiers Are Most at Risk of Acting on Suicide Ideation?
The statistics are alarming. More soldiers die from self-inflicted gunshot wounds than combat injuries. Eighty-three percent of firearm deaths in the military are from suicide.
Veteran Suicides Dropped in Latest Statistics, Reversing Steady Increases
According to VA’s 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, veteran suicides dropped in 2019, reversing the steady rise seen in previous years.
White River Junction VAMC Pilots WHO Suicide Prevention Program at VA
After 18 months of pandemic disruption and isolation, International organizations are urging governments, health systems and nonprofits to prioritize suicide prevention. The VA may have just the program.
Unexpected Results Revealed No Boost in Veteran Suicide Rate During Pandemic
Past research has suggested that suicide rates rose during the 2018 influenza epidemic—unrelated to World War I and Prohibition—and during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak among older adults in Hong Kong.