ADVERTISEMENT
Suicidal Ideation Among US Veterans Decreased During Pandemic
Despite a 30% surge in suicides among US military veterans between 2010 and 2018, the population did not experience an increase in suicidal behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather a decrease. Researchers published the findings in JAMA Psychiatry.
“Nearly a year into the pandemic, veterans as a whole showed great resilience in the face of the pandemic,” said study senior author Robert Pietrzak, PhD, MPH, of the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD and Yale School of Medicine.
The cohort study included a nationally representative sample of 3078 US veterans surveyed in November 2019 and again in November 2020.
Rapid Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Assessment Tools Demonstrate Valid Screening, Symptom Severity Results
Between the 2 surveys, the number of US veterans who reported having thoughts of suicide the previous year fell 26%—from 10.6% in November 2019 to 7.8% in November 2020, according to the study.
Some 0.3% of veterans reported attempting suicide during the pandemic. Researchers pointed out the rate of suicide attempts was half that of the total US population the year before the pandemic, although veterans are typically considered at higher risk of suicide attempts compared with civilians.
Yet new-onset suicidal ideation was reported by 2.6% of veterans in November 2020. Risk factors for new-onset suicidal thinking included posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol use disorder, a history of suicide attempt, COVID-19 infection, low social support, and worsening of relationships.
“These results align with converging lines of evidence from the general population, suggesting that despite grim forecasts about the COVID-19 pandemic creating a perfect storm for suicidal behavior, the prevalence of suicidality did not appear to increase at the population level,” researchers wrote.
References
