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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT VETERANS' SUICIDES --
Here are some questions and answers on veteran
suicides, what
information exists, and what changes in care have
been made.
For more about veterans and suicide, use the VA
Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=suicide&op=and
Story here...
Story below:
-------------------------
Questions and answers about veterans suicide
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake took heated
questions this week on Capitol Hill about whether his agency was
withholding information about the number of veterans who are committing
suicide.
His testimony was prompted by the disclosure of e-mails during a recent
trial that seemed to suggest some VA officials were hiding the number of
veterans trying to kill themselves. Peake promised to make the agency more
transparent.
Here are some questions and answers on veteran suicides, what information
exists, and what changes in care have been made.
Q: How many U.S. troops who fought in Iraq and
Afghanistan have committed suicide?
A: It's difficult to know for sure. There is no central place where the
government keeps track of the number of troops who fought in these wars
and subsequently took their own lives.
The Department of Veterans Affairs tracks the number of suicides among
those who have left the military. It says there have been 144 suicides
among the nearly 500,000 service members who left the military from
2002-2005 after fighting in at least one of the wars.
The Pentagon says there have been 172 suicides by troops in the war zones.
That's not the entire picture, however, because that count does not
include those who returned home and committed suicide while still in the
military. The Associated Press has repeatedly asked the Department of
Defense and the Army for this information, but they have not provided it.
 Q:
What else do we know about these suicides?
A: Peake said the VA's research has found the rate of suicide among
veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq was slightly higher — but not
significantly different statistically — than the comparable general
population. The VA's research is limited to suicides through the end of
2005.
In upcoming weeks, the Army is expected to release a report with
information on Army suicides that occurred last year. As of January, the
Army said at least 89 soldiers had taken their own lives in 2007, and the
deaths of 32 others were being investigated as possible suicides.
In 2006, the Army's suicide rate rose to 17.3 per 100,000 troops — the
highest in 26 years of record-keeping.
Q: What is being done to address the problem?
A: The Department of Defense does mental and physical screenings of all
troops when they return to the United States after fighting in a war zone,
and a second time from 90 to 180 days later. Army leaders say they're also
working to change the stigma against seeking help.
The VA last year created a national suicide hot line for veterans. It also
has appointed suicide prevention coordinators at all VA medical centers.
Some veterans advocates say that's not enough. Two veterans groups,
Veterans for Common Sense in Washington and Santa Barbara, Calif.-based
Veterans United for Truth filed a lawsuit seeking a judge's ruling to
force the VA to make changes in mental health care. During the trial in
the case, the e-mails surfaced. The judge has not yet ruled.
Q: Are veterans at higher risk for suicide than the general population?
A: There is what is called the "healthy soldier effect." When troops enter
the military, they are considered at lower risk for suicide than the
general population because they passed mental and physical health
screenings. Researchers at Portland State University in Oregon found last
year that male veterans were twice as likely to commit suicide as male
non-veterans. High gun ownership rates, debilitating injuries and mental
health disorders were all factors that seemed to put veterans at greater
risk.
Q: Is there a reason to be concerned?
A: Many mental health professionals say yes. A recent Rand Corp. study
estimated that about 300,000 of the 1.6 million troops who have fought in
the recent wars are suffering from mental health problems. Based in part
on that report, Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of
Mental Health, told reporters Monday that it's possible that suicides and
psychiatric mortality deaths by recent combat vets "could trump combat
deaths." About 4,500 troops have died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Q: A VA official said in an e-mail to colleagues that surfaced recently
during a trial that 1,000 veterans a month attempt suicide while under VA
care. Is this correct?
A: Peake told the House Veterans Affairs committee this week that the
number was not accurate. He said it could be an underestimate. He said the
VA is trying to improve its tracking of suicide attempts by veterans under
its care. The number he cited was a count of all veterans, not just those
from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Q: How many veterans commit suicide every year?
A: The true incidence of suicide among veterans is not known, according to
a Congressional Research Service report released this month. Based on
numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the VA
estimates that 18 veterans a day — or 6,500 a year — take their own lives.
That number includes veterans from all wars.
Q: There are more than 58,000 names listed on the Vietnam Wall. Is it true
that more Vietnam veterans have committed suicide than are named on the
wall?
A: No one knows for sure. Some say that's an urban myth, while others
believe it's true. One government study of Army veterans from Vietnam
found they were more likely to have taken their own lives than other
veterans in the first five years after leaving the military, although the
study found the likelihood dissipated over time. While there have been
improvements in tracking suicides, advocates say more tracking and
research must be done to better quantify and understand suicide among
veterans and society as a whole.
Q: Is there a direct link between combat and suicide?
A: Suicide is complex and difficult to understand. There is research that
indicates traumatic events like combat generally increases a person's
suicide risk, but there is considerable debate about why, according to the
VA's National Center for Postraumatic Stress Disorder. Combat experience
is just one of many possible risk factors for suicide.
The toll-free Veterans Affairs Department suicide hot line number is
1-800-273-TALK (8255).
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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