PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Young women veterans have nearly triple the suicide rate of young women who never served in the military, U.S. researchers say.
Study co-authors Dr. Bentson McFarland of Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Mark Kaplan and Nathalie Huguet of Portland State University, say women veterans are more likely to complete suicide than non-veteran women.
The researchers analyzed data on 5,948 female suicides from 2004 to 2007. In the 18-34 age group alone, there were 56 suicides among 418,132 female veterans, or 1 in 7,465, vs. 1,461 suicides among 33,257,362 non-veterans, or 1 in 22,763.
"Female veterans ages 18-34 are at highest risk," the researchers say in a statement. "The rate was lower in the next oldest age group we studied, ages 35-44, and the rate was lower still among those ages 45-64. However, even within this age group, the rate was higher than civilian women's suicide rates."
The researchers used suicide data in the 16 states of the National Violent Death Reporting System.
"The elevated rates of suicide among women veterans should be a call-to-action, especially for clinicians and caregivers to be aware of warning signs and helpful prevention resources such as the Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)," McFarland says.
The findings are published in the journal Psychiatric Services.
