Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a Significant Suicide Risk for Military Veterans?

This article explores the relationship between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suicide risk in military veterans. It discusses statistics relating to suicide rates among veterans, the impact of PTSD on suicidal thoughts, and the association between PTSD and insomnia, depression, and substance abuse.

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PTSD
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Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a Significant Suicide Risk for Military Veterans?
Statistic Relating to Military Veterans and Suicide Rates
The suicide rates among the veterans between the financial year 2009 to financial year
2012 were classified on the basis of reported death certificates, level of education, age, sex and
ethnicity. Out of the 147,763 suicide cases that were reported in 21 states, 27062 were reported
to be having history of military service and 22.2% were veterans as per the death certificates
(Kemp & Bossarte, 2013). 69% of all veteran suicides are 50 years and above while 6.0% are 29
years or younger (Kemp & Bossarte, 2013). Of all the suicides among veterans, 97% are males
while less than 3% are females according to Kemp and Bossarte (2013). The leading suicide rate
in different ethnic groups were 92% of white veterans and 91.4% non-Hispanic veterans while
the lowest was 0.4% Asian veterans (Kemp & Bossarte, 2013). 35.1% of veterans who
completed high school and 3.5% of veterans who spent 3 years in college committed suicide
(Kemp & Bossarte, 2013).
PTSD, suicide, and veterans
Suicidal behavior is a critical issue among veterans. Since most veterans undergo through
severe trauma which may threaten their lives, they are likely to suffer from PTSD and in turn
have suicidal thoughts. The veterans who are at high risk are those returning from military
service in different countries and places. PTSD diagnosis and PTSD symptoms among Iraq and
Afghanistan-era veterans are associated with high rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt
(Kittel et al., 2016). This may be as a result of nightmares or even flashbacks.

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PTSD and insomnia
Insomnia among veterans is as a result of fear of combat exposure and injury especially
among new troops. During their deployment, the veterans are forced to irregular sleep-wake
schedules. However, they must fully adjust after completing their mission. Failure to
immediately and proactively treat insomnia among these people becomes a major risk factor for
the development of suicide thoughts and PTSD. Insomnia in PTSD is also associated with an
increased risk for physical health complaints, which is not unexpected given that in the general
population chronic and severe insomnia are associated with increased risk for hyper-tension
and/or cardiovascular disease and immunosuppression (Talbot et al., 2014).
PTSD and depression
Veterans are exposed to a myriad situation which may leave them feeling hopeless and
unworthy. Those who have been deployed are at a high risk because of the situations they faced.
According to Badour, Gros, Szafranski, and Acierno (2016), veterans returning from Operations
Enduring/Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) display high rates of both post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) and depression.
PTSD and substance abuse
Alcohol consumption among the veterans prolong and intensify the PTSD symptoms.
Alcohol consumption exacerbates the PTSD symptoms because it is a depressant. Brief et al.
(2017) argue that high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are also well documented
among OEF/OIF Veterans engaging in alcohol misuse. This is because veterans returning from
war involuntarily engages in alcohol consumption so as to relieve themselves from service
connected to PTSD.

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References
Badour, C. L., Gros, D. F., Szafranski, D. D., & Acierno, R. (2016). Sexual Problems Predict
PTSD and Depression Symptom Change Among Male OEF/OIF Veterans Completing
Exposure Therapy. Psychiatry, 79(4), 403–417. doi:10.1080/00332747.2016.1142774
Brief, D. J., Solhan, M., Rybin, D., Enggasser, J. L., Rubin, A., Roy, M., … Keane, T. M.
(2017). Web-based alcohol intervention for veterans: PTSD, combat exposure, and
alcohol outcomes. Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy, 10(2),
154–162. doi:10.1037/tra0000281
Kemp, J., & Bossarte, R. (2013). Suicide data report: 2012. Washington, DC: Department of
Veterans Affairs, Mental Health Services, Suicide Prevention Program. Retrieved from
http://wiiwarrior.org/downloads/suicide-data-report-2012-final.pdf
Kittel, J. A., DeBeer, B. B., Kimbrel, N. A., Matthieu, M. M., Meyer, E. C., Gulliver, S. B., &
Morissette, S. B. (2016). Does body mass index moderate the association between
posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and suicidal ideation in Iraq/Afghanistan
veterans?. Psychiatry research, 244, 123–129. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.07.039
Talbot, L. S., Maguen, S., Metzler, T. J., Schmitz, M., McCaslin, S. E., Richards, A., … Neylan,
T. C. (2014). Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in posttraumatic stress disorder:
a randomized controlled trial. Sleep, 37(2), 327–341. doi:10.5665/sleep.3408