Vet suicide rate 'not getting better

The numbers are just from death certificates in 21 states and in many cases, the word "veteran" was not included in the certificates. In other words, they don't know how many were not included or how many are in all states.

Vet suicide rate 'not getting better
Feb 12, 2013

The historic pace of troop suicides confounding the military through the war years is following service members into civilian life, according to preliminary analyses of new veteran data.

Although only 4.5% of men ages 18-34 are veterans, veterans account for 10.8% of suicides in that age group, according to statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The numbers are based on death data collected by the VA from 21 states.

"We're very concerned," says Janet Kemp, head of the VA's suicide prevention program. "I think that there's an indication that (active-duty suicide trends) are not getting better and that I'm very worried about this new, younger group of veterans that are coming out and coming into our system."

A similar pattern exists for the men ages 35-54 where 21.7% of suicides are by veterans who make up only 13.9% of that group. The disproportionate pattern goes away for older male veterans, the data show.

"There may be a hint of increased risk for that particular (post-9/11) age group," says Robert Bossarte, a VA epidemiologist.
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