Deaths from Suicide, Accidental Poisoning Rise Among Midlife White Veteran Men

All-cause death rates in the United States for white male veterans ages 55 through 64 increased significantly between 2003 and 2014, and the escalation was accompanied by spikes in deaths from suicide, accidental poisoning, and alcoholic liver disease. Researchers published their findings online in Heliyon.

“These disturbing findings emphasize the critical importance of suicide prevention programs as well as primary care and mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs available to veterans,” researchers wrote, “and also point to the need for future research to evaluate these programs.” 

The study aimed to determine whether recent increases in deaths from suicide, poisoning, and alcoholic liver disease reported among midlife white non-Hispanic Americans were also occurring in middle-aged male veterans. Female veterans were not included in the study, researchers explained, because their small numbers would yield unstable death rates. The study did include white non-Hispanic veteran men, black non-Hispanic veteran men, and Hispanic veteran men enrolled in Veterans Affairs primary care. 

For white veteran men aged 55 through 64, all-cause mortality increased by 309 deaths per 100,000 veterans between 2003 and 2014, according to the study. Over the 12-year span, deaths from alcoholic liver disease increased 41% in that population, deaths from poisoning increased 231%, and deaths by suicide increased 63%. 

“It is noteworthy that death rates for white non-Hispanic male veterans were considerably higher than those for similar-aged men in the US population,” researchers wrote. 

The increases were not evident, however, in white male veterans ages 45 through 54, who showed a marked decline in all-cause death rates. All-cause mortality also decreased notably among black and among Hispanic male veterans, according to the study. In fact, black veteran men had lower all-cause death rates than black American men—and, among those ages 45 through 54, death rates among black veteran men were lower than death rates among white veteran men. 

“It is beyond the scope of this paper to explain why this was the case,” researchers wrote, “although possible reasons have to do with a higher educational levels of black non-Hispanics entering the military as well as military service having a more favorable impact on the lives of black non-Hispanic men,” researchers wrote. —Jolynn Tumolo