Veterans with Psychiatric Disorders, Including Substance Abuse, Have Increased Risk of Suicide
Veterans who have been diagnosed with any psychiatric illness seem to have an increased risk of suicide, according to a new study by researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. About 90 to 98 percent of people who commit suicide meet the criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder, according to background information in the article.
The authors write that while previous research has consistently found associations between psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, and substance abuse, it’s been difficult to determine the association between suicide risk and individual psychiatric conditions, partly because of the low numbers of suicides in many studies.
Recent studies suggest that veterans have a higher risk of suicide compared to the general population. The researchers, led by Mark A. Ilgen, Ph.D., looked at the associations among different types of psychiatric diagnoses and the risk of suicide among more than 3 million veterans who received care at a VA facility in 1999. They looked at psychiatric diagnoses from 1998 and 1999, and deaths by suicide were tracked over the following seven years.
Over the seven years, 7,684 veterans committed suicide. About half of those who died by suicide were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric disorder, and all of the disorders examined were associated with an increased risk of suicide. The disorders included depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, PTSD, and other anxiety disorders.
The study found that men had a higher risk of suicide when they were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Depression, substance use disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and PTSD followed. Women with substance use disorders had the highest risk of suicide, followed by bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, and anxiety disorders.
Bipolar disorder, which was the least common diagnosis, was the most strongly linked to suicide than any other disorder. Nine percent of those who died by suicide had bipolar disorder. The authors said this suggests that there should be prevention efforts targeted at those with bipolar disorder, as well as more attempts to improve medication adherence.
The authors note that that many people with psychiatric disorders who are at a higher risk of suicide did not receive treatment and thus weren’t included in the study. This could be due to the stigma surrounding psychiatric disorders, which could discourage some people from seeking treatment—especially men with military experience. This suggests that improvements need to be made in the mental health care field.
Source: Science Daily, Veterans With Bipolar Disorder May Have Increased Risk of Suicide, November 2, 2010
