07 Jun Suicide Rates Much Higher In Army Than Other Service Lines
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Andrew Anglemyer
Andrew Anglemyer, PhD MPH
Operations Research Department
U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, CA 93943
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Anglemyer: Suicide prevention programs in the military are ubiquitous. We aimed to identify the trends in suicide for each service specifically and explore any nonclinical factors that may be associated with the chosen methods of suicide. The trends in suicide are similar to what others have found.
The differences in those rates between services are striking, though. Not only are most suicides in the active duty military among the Army personnel, but the suicide rate among Army personnel is the highest and has been every year since 2006. Additionally, among Army personnel and Marines who committed suicide, those with an infantry or special operations job classification were significantly more likely to use a firearm to commit suicide than those without those job classifications.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Anglemyer: The reasons for the differences in suicide risk between services are not well understood. Some have speculated that it may be deployment related, but this has not yet been fully worked out. In our paper we suggest that there are likely many factors at play here, which may include changing mission emphasis and combat operations in multiple theaters. Future investigations of mission-specific factors contributing to a service member’s risk for suicide are needed. Additionally, we did not have information on firearm ownership or type of firearm used, so our results are less informative regarding policies regarding personally owned firearms.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: In 2010 and 2011, the rate of suicide in the Army was about two-times higher than the second highest rate (Marines). The rates of suicide are for all types of suicide, not necessarily violent suicides. So, the differences in suicides between services are for all types of suicides. We do not make comparisons of rates of violent suicides over time between services.
Further, though there is no clear reason why suicides among the Army personnel and Marines would be more violent if they had infantry or special operations job classifications, others have found that suicide risk is significantly greater among personnel whose occupations allow for easier access to firearms.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Anglemyer A, Miller ML, Buttrey S, Whitaker L. Suicide Rates and Methods in Active Duty Military Personnel, 2005 to 2011: A Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. [Epub ahead of print 7 June 2016] doi:10.7326/M15-2785
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Last Updated on June 7, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD