Monday, January 11, 2010
Suicide Rate Among Veterans Goes Up
KENTUCKY...
The government said Monday the suicide rate among 18 to 29 year-old men who've left the military has gone up significantly. The rate for these veterans went up 26 percent from 2005 to 2007. If there is a bright spot in the data, it's that in 2007 veterans in the group who used VA health care were less likely to commit suicide than those who did not. The military in recent years has struggled as well with an increase in suicides, with the Army seeing a record number last year. While the military frequently releases such data, it has been more difficult to track suicide information on veterans once they've left active duty. The VA calculated the numbers using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers from 16 states. In 2005, the rate per 100,000 veterans among men ages 18-29 was 44.99, compared with 56.77 in 2007. He noted that of the 30,000 suicides each year in America, about 20 percent are committed by veterans.
The government said Monday the suicide rate among 18 to 29 year-old men who've left the military has gone up significantly. The rate for these veterans went up 26 percent from 2005 to 2007. If there is a bright spot in the data, it's that in 2007 veterans in the group who used VA health care were less likely to commit suicide than those who did not. The military in recent years has struggled as well with an increase in suicides, with the Army seeing a record number last year. While the military frequently releases such data, it has been more difficult to track suicide information on veterans once they've left active duty. The VA calculated the numbers using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers from 16 states. In 2005, the rate per 100,000 veterans among men ages 18-29 was 44.99, compared with 56.77 in 2007. He noted that of the 30,000 suicides each year in America, about 20 percent are committed by veterans.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 1:40 PM 
