Suicide rates by age and time among American Indian and Alaskan Native Veterans

Abstract: Objective: Although recent work has highlighted high rates of suicide among American Indian and Alaska Native individuals who served in the US military, to date, a comprehensive evaluation of age-specific suicide rates, over time, has yet to be conducted. Methods: Population-based retrospective cohort study. Average annual suicide rates (2005-2020) were computed. The cohort included 207,955 Native Veterans who were alive as of January 1, 2005, and separated from military service on or before December 31, 2020. Suicide was identified via National Death Index codes. Results: Between 2005 and 2020, average annual, age-specific suicide rates among Native Veterans ranged from 16.32/100,000 (55+ y) to 64.49/100,000 (18-34 y). Compared with other age-related cohorts, the rate among those in the youngest age cohort (18-34y) was the highest between 2005 and 2018. The 2019-2020 average annual rate for 18- to 34-year-olds (41.86/100,000) dropped below that of the middle-aged cohort (35-45 y; 44.66/100,000). Across all age cohorts, firearms were the most used method of suicide [57.2% (18-34 and 35-54 y) to 66.17% (55+y)]; however, a notable percentage of Veterans died by suffocation, 16.54% (55 y and older), 26.71% (35-54 y), and 33.21% (18-34 y). Conclusions: Findings highlight differences in suicide rates by age groups overtime for Native Veterans irrespective of Veterans Health Administration use and across service eras, as well as means of suicide, which also differed across groups. Increased efforts are needed to identify culturally and age-relevant intervention strategies, as well as factors associated with risk, to reduce deaths among Native Veterans.

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