142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Changes in Total and Mechanism Specific Veteran Suicide Rates by Age Group in 23 US States, 2001-2010

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 4:30 PM - 4:45 PM

Janet McCarten, Ph.D. , VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Department of Veterans Affairs, Canandaigua, NY
Claire Hoffmire, Ph.D. , VISN2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Department of Veteran Affairs, Canandaigua, NY
Robert Bassarte, PhD , VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Chief, Epidemiology and Population Interventions Research, Canandaigua, NY
Background/Purpose:  Veterans show evidence of a higher suicide rate than that of the US general population. In addition, a recent Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Data Report demonstrated an increase in the suicide rate among male VHA users under age 30 from 2009 to 2011.   A detailed account of trends in total and mechanism specific suicide rates among Veterans by different age categories is not currently available.  This information would be valuable in programming suicide prevention initiatives for specific Veteran populations.

Methods:  State death certificates containing validated Veteran status information from 23 states (N=39,408) from the years 2001 through 2010 were used to calculate age-specific suicide rates, overall and by mechanism (firearm, suffocation, and poisoning).  Age was categorized into six groups (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+). Biannual rates were presented in order to improve the precision of age- and mechanism-specific findings.

Results/Outcomes: 

The overall, firearm, and suffocation suicide rates among Veterans aged 18-29 were approximately twice the rates of any other age categories presented.  In addition, biannual trends revealed Veterans in the 50-59 age category had the largest increase in suicide rates over time (overall and by specific mechanisms) from 2001 to 2010. 

Conclusions:  Age specific suicide rates revealed identifiable trends that may be used to tailor suicide prevention initiatives to specific Veteran populations.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Compare suicide rates by mechanism among Veterans aged 18-29. Discuss the most prevalent suicide mechanism overall. Discuss trends in its use from 2001 to 2010.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiologist working for the VA Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention and have worked extensively on the analysis and presentation of findings for this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4431.0: Suicide prevention