By the Numbers - July 11, 2016

By the Numbers - July 11, 2016

5%

The percentage of U.S. military Veterans "who completed the Veterans Health Module (VHM) of the 2011 and 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n=10,406)" who reported suicidal ideation, according to an article published online before print in the journal Epidemiology -- Population mental health among US military veterans: Results of the Veterans Health Module of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2011-2012. The article indicated that 1% of Veterans in the sample reported attempting suicide.

Among men, unemployment was positively associated with suicidal ideation and combat exposure was negatively associated with suicidal ideation. Being separated, divorced or widowed was positively associated with suicidal ideation among women. After adjusting for socio-demographic and VHM variables, veterans who sought mental health treatment from both VA and non-VA facilities had more than fourfold increased odds of suicidal ideation than veteran who sought mental health treatment from only VA facilities (aOR=4.02, 95%CI:1.23-13.13).