psencik1950
04-23-2008, 14:41
I originally put this with the news forum, but it didn't show up as a post. Most of my responses are semi wisea** anyway, but I thought this topic deserved some attention, so I did some quick research.
I did some quick research into some numbers. I used Up-to-date.com an evidence-based, peer-reviewed format to research the medical, scientific side of suicide.
I think the rate is more like 18/day rather than week. One number I found in CBS's work is 120/wk. There has been no delineation between numbers of sucides by age groups in any of the news sources I found.
In 2005, CBS researched that there were 6256 suicides committed by vets. There are approximately 30,000 suicides a year in the US according to uptodate. Veterans make up approximately 10% of the population greater than 18 yrs of age. Vets make up approx. 8% of the US total population. (US Census Bureau).
I found some figures quoted by CBS that stated there were 3 times the rate of suicides in younger vets than in the non-veteran population of the same age group. However, uptodate states that younger people are more apt to attempt suicide than older peolple. The highest age grouped with gender is greater than 85 yrs of age and male. The rate is roughly 5 times that of the population in general. Men are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than women, even though women attempt suicide 4 times more often. This is due to the lethality of the means men use to commit suicide, e.g. firearms.
It is estimated that in adolescents there 100 to 200 attempts per successful sudicide. Alcohol is involved in 1/3 of successful suicides and 20 to 25% of suicides are intoxicated at the time. PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), violent behavior in the last year, loss of loved ones, divorce, etc. all play an important role in suicde victims. However, PTSD patients who are being treated for PTSD are less likely to commit suicide.
Now that I have done what everyone else is doing - which is throwing a lot of numbers out there, let me state what implications I drew from this brief research.
Yes, there is a problem with suicide in the veteran population. Is the VA doing enough about it? Probably not, there are too many a**-wipes in a cushy govt job worried about protecting their job. But, I don't think that is a new trend. I can't discern from what I've seen how many of these suicides are from what era. My thought about that is there are still a lot of WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam vets who are in failing health, who have decided that they would rather not deal with it anymore. Vets certainly know many lethal ways of killing themselves. Failing health is certainly a common ailment of the older vets. As a friend of mine (Vietnam vet who died of complications from Agent Orange) said after many of his trips to the VA, that he had seen the results of Camel cigarettes and bourbon on many of his fellow patients.
So the media has found something that has been out there for a long time and they need a story.
But as Corpsmen, we have a responsibility to our patients and ourselves. As most of you know, everybody around you can be your patient. Uptodate points out that many suicides have recently visited their primary care, who might be that HN or HM3, for something unrelated. Most people who have suicidal ideations (SI) won't volunteer that info, but if asked directly they will answer the question in the affirmative. If SI exist, then there are some questions that need to asked - Do you have a plan?, Do you have a way of carrying it out? Have you started doing things to carry it out? A visit to someone can be a subconscious plea for help?
If you think there are SI, you need to seek psychiatric health for your patient immediately.
In the ER and other places, a morbid sense of humor exists that always says maybe they need lessons in killing themselves. At San Diego NH, we got Marine boots who had drank Hoppe's Gun Solvent because it said "may cause death or be harmful to your health." It was harmful all right, they started killing their livers and not all of them got out of the USMC. Different times.
I just realized why this struck such a note with me. I rec'd an email that an ER nurse just committed suicide. She used a gun, but then her husband used to be military.
Ben
I did some quick research into some numbers. I used Up-to-date.com an evidence-based, peer-reviewed format to research the medical, scientific side of suicide.
I think the rate is more like 18/day rather than week. One number I found in CBS's work is 120/wk. There has been no delineation between numbers of sucides by age groups in any of the news sources I found.
In 2005, CBS researched that there were 6256 suicides committed by vets. There are approximately 30,000 suicides a year in the US according to uptodate. Veterans make up approximately 10% of the population greater than 18 yrs of age. Vets make up approx. 8% of the US total population. (US Census Bureau).
I found some figures quoted by CBS that stated there were 3 times the rate of suicides in younger vets than in the non-veteran population of the same age group. However, uptodate states that younger people are more apt to attempt suicide than older peolple. The highest age grouped with gender is greater than 85 yrs of age and male. The rate is roughly 5 times that of the population in general. Men are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than women, even though women attempt suicide 4 times more often. This is due to the lethality of the means men use to commit suicide, e.g. firearms.
It is estimated that in adolescents there 100 to 200 attempts per successful sudicide. Alcohol is involved in 1/3 of successful suicides and 20 to 25% of suicides are intoxicated at the time. PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), violent behavior in the last year, loss of loved ones, divorce, etc. all play an important role in suicde victims. However, PTSD patients who are being treated for PTSD are less likely to commit suicide.
Now that I have done what everyone else is doing - which is throwing a lot of numbers out there, let me state what implications I drew from this brief research.
Yes, there is a problem with suicide in the veteran population. Is the VA doing enough about it? Probably not, there are too many a**-wipes in a cushy govt job worried about protecting their job. But, I don't think that is a new trend. I can't discern from what I've seen how many of these suicides are from what era. My thought about that is there are still a lot of WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam vets who are in failing health, who have decided that they would rather not deal with it anymore. Vets certainly know many lethal ways of killing themselves. Failing health is certainly a common ailment of the older vets. As a friend of mine (Vietnam vet who died of complications from Agent Orange) said after many of his trips to the VA, that he had seen the results of Camel cigarettes and bourbon on many of his fellow patients.
So the media has found something that has been out there for a long time and they need a story.
But as Corpsmen, we have a responsibility to our patients and ourselves. As most of you know, everybody around you can be your patient. Uptodate points out that many suicides have recently visited their primary care, who might be that HN or HM3, for something unrelated. Most people who have suicidal ideations (SI) won't volunteer that info, but if asked directly they will answer the question in the affirmative. If SI exist, then there are some questions that need to asked - Do you have a plan?, Do you have a way of carrying it out? Have you started doing things to carry it out? A visit to someone can be a subconscious plea for help?
If you think there are SI, you need to seek psychiatric health for your patient immediately.
In the ER and other places, a morbid sense of humor exists that always says maybe they need lessons in killing themselves. At San Diego NH, we got Marine boots who had drank Hoppe's Gun Solvent because it said "may cause death or be harmful to your health." It was harmful all right, they started killing their livers and not all of them got out of the USMC. Different times.
I just realized why this struck such a note with me. I rec'd an email that an ER nurse just committed suicide. She used a gun, but then her husband used to be military.
Ben