Suicide
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Insomnia, Sleep Disturbances Common Among Veterans With PTSD
Type of content: News
Insomnia-related sleep complaints were found to be highly prevalent in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the results of a study published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress.
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Brain-injured warfighters face elevated long-term mental health risks, study finds
Type of content: News
Service members who suffered moderate to severe traumatic brain injury in combat have significantly higher incidence of mental health disorders in following years as compared to warfighters who sustained other traumatic injuries, a study found.
The study, published in the current issue of the journal Military Medicine, examined almost 5,000 cases of traumatic injury experienced by Marines, soldiers, airmen and sailors during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan from February 2002 to February 2011.
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Alarming VA Report Totals Decade of Veteran Suicides
Type of content: News
The Department of Veterans Affairs released an alarming report Friday showing that at least 60,000 veterans died by suicide between 2008 and 2017, with little sign that the crisis is abating despite suicide prevention being the VA's top priority.
Although the total population of veterans declined by 18% during that span of years, more than 6,000 veterans died by suicide annually, according to the VA's 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
- Topics
- Suicide
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Pentagon to Issue New Annual Report on Service Member, Family Suicides
Type of content: News
The Pentagon will put out a new annual report on military suicide starting this year, Defense Suicide Prevention Office Director Karin Orvis announced Aug. 27.
The inaugural report, due out this fall, will detail data on suicide incidents among troops and their family members that occurred in 2018, according to DOD.
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Veterans with PTSD twice as likely to die from suicide, accidents, study says
Type of content: News
June 24 (UPI) -- For many veterans, life in combat is hard, but for those who survive it, the mental stress of war can be deadly, new research shows.
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder have twice the risk of dying from accidental injury, viral hepatitis and suicide compared to the general population, according to a study published Monday in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. They also have a higher risk of developing chronic liver disease and diabetes.
- Topics
- Mental Health
- Suicide
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Endless struggle: Vermont’s veteran suicide rate is among highest in the nation
Type of content: News
In Valerie Pallotta’s eyes, her son, Josh, was always determined to do what he liked, including fighting for his country.
When Josh came home one day in 2009 and told her he was joining the Vermont National Guard, she asked if he realized he would be deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“He said ‘I know. That’s why I’m joining’,” Valerie said.
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New Military Suicide Report May Revive Debate Over Gun Restrictions
Type of content: News
A new report from the Defense Department is likely to revive debate over the prospect of using "means restriction" -- limiting access to firearms -- as a way to reduce the number of suicides among U.S. troops.
According to a DoD report on military suicides in 2017 released Wednesday, two-thirds of suicides among active-duty personnel that year were by firearm, a statistic consistent with the previous five years.
Of the 309 suicides among active-duty troops in 2017, firearms played a role in 202 deaths. Most were privately owned guns, not service weapons.
- Topics
- DoD
- Legislation
- Mental Health
- Suicide
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Defense Department, VA Gear Up to Host Suicide Prevention Conference
Type of content: News
The Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments will team up in August to hold a conference on suicide prevention in Nashville.
The meeting, the first in two years, will bring together the suicide prevention offices of both departments and the military services, as well as subject-matter experts from academia, nonprofit groups and veterans and military support organizations, to address the ongoing battle against active-duty and veteran suicides.
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Historic Million-Veteran Study Could Lead to PTSD Research Breakthrough
Type of content: News
The VA has teamed up with the Defense Department and thousands of veteran volunteers on what could be breakthrough research to get at the root causes of post-traumatic stress disorder and open up paths to new methods of treatment, according to VA officials.
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How the VA uses algorithms to predict suicide
Type of content: News
The Department of Veterans Affairs is using artificial intelligence to figure out which veterans are in critical need of mental health treatment as part of a massive effort to stem suicide in its ranks, a top priority of President Donald Trump and his VA leadership.
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