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September 11, 2008
Suicide rates for young male Iraq, Afghanistan war veterans hit record high in 2006, VA statistics indicate
USA Today (9/9, Zoroya) reports that "suicide rates for young male Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans hit a record high in 2006, according to statistics to be released Tuesday by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)."
VA figures for "2006, the last year for which records are available," indicate that "there were about 46 suicides per 100,000 male veterans ages 18-29 who use VA services. That compares with about 20 suicides per 100,000 men of that age who are not veterans."
The VA's records also "show that 141 veterans who left the military after Sept. 11, 2001, committed suicide between 2002 and 2005. In the one year that followed, an additional 113 of the Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans killed themselves."
Army psychiatrist Col. Elspeth Ritchie, M.D., M.P.H., explained that "lengthy and multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan cause relationship problems, a leading factor in suicides."
Related Links:
- "VA report: Male U.S. veteran suicides at highest in 2006," Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, September 8, 2008.
Posted by admin at September 11, 2008 10:49 AM