Suicide among Virginia Active Duty and Veterans

On behalf of Dr. Leah Bush, Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are pleased to present a new report from the Virginia Violent Death Reporting System called Military-Related Suicide in Virginia: 2003-2010. This report examines suicide among active duty military members and military veterans in Virginia. Highlights of this report include:

• From 2003-2010 there were 1,647 suicide decedents in Virginia who were active duty military members or military veterans. 
• Estimates of suicide rates suggest that male active duty military members and veterans ages 18-29 have a 2.8 times increase in suicide risk as compared to similarly aged civilian males.
• Active duty military members less often gave clear warning signs to friends and family that they were at risk for suicide than did civilians. 
• Military members had a number of protective factors in place including education, marriage, and employment, but were still at increased risk for suicide.

This report is available at: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/medExam/NVDRS.htm#reports

From Marc Leslie