Department of Defense Suicide Event Report (DoDSER) Calendar Year 2011 Annual Report

Coincident alcohol dependence and depression increases risk of suicidal ideation among Army National Guard soldiers

“…The suicide rate among Army National Guard soldiers has in recent years exceeded that of Active Duty Army and Army Reserve [9,10,7], representing a divergence from earlier trends. Indeed, in both 2009 and 2010, Active Duty service members had nearly twice the risk of suicide relative to those in the National Guard or Reserves (reservists) [9].…”

“…By branch, Army soldiers had the highest rate of suicide in 2010, with a rate of 21.7 per 100,000. These trends reversed between 2010 and 2013, such that the suicide rate among Army National Guard soldiers exceeded that of Active Duty Army and Army Reserve [9,10,7]. Surveillance data from 2014 suggests this excess risk among Army National Guard service members may be leveling off [7], but this divergence nonetheless raises concern about the mental health of service members in the Army National Guard.…”

A Retrospective Chart Review Examination of Demographic, Military, and Psychiatric Differences among Psychiatric Inpatients Admitted for Suicide-Ideation versus Suicide Attempt with an Emphasis on Gender

“…This does not diminish the fact that nearly a quarter of the sample received a substance-related diagnosis, given the fact that a quarter of all military suicide deaths were among individuals with a history of substance abuse (124). Also, PTSD has long been connected to individuals in the military, but among this sample, the percentage of patients given the diagnosis was quite small.…”

“…While the Department of Defense (DoD) has historically reported lower suicide rates than those in the civilian population, these rates are growing closer as a decade of two wars and heavy operations tempo place significant stressors on the military at home and abroad (62). The most recently reported rates for calendar year 2011 per 100,000 for the U.S. branches of military service are as follows: 13.27 for the U.S. Air Force (USAF), 22.90 for the U.S. Army (USA), 14.87 for the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), and 14.98 for the U.S. Navy (USN) (124).…”

“…For those individuals who reported ideation, women also had a significantly higher conditional probability of (1) making a future attempt (OR = 1. were women (124). In a community assessment of active duty Air Force members, 3%…”