RESEARCH WEEKLY: Veterans with Severe Mental Illness By Elizabeth Hancq In honor of Veteran’s Day, this week’s blog highlights research on the high risk of suicidal behavior among Veteran’s with severe mental illness to bring awareness to the importance of suicide prevention and access to mental health treatment for our service members. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, with more than 48,000 Americans dying by suicide in 2018. People with severe mental illness are disproportionately impacted by suicide, as are U.S. Veterans. Research published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research by researchers from the Research Service at Bruce W. Carter Veterans Affairs Medical Center suggests that a history of suicidal ideation or behavior is common among U.S. Veterans with severe mental illness. Therefore “although PTSD is a major current focus in veteran populations, the large number of veterans with SZ [schizophrenia] or BP [bipolar disorder] and their high suicide risk suggests a greater clinical focus may be warranted,” the authors write. The study authors utilized data from a Department of Veterans Affairs study on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the original purpose of which was to collect genetic data and conduct genomic analysis among this population. The current study authors examined the demographic and clinical characteristics that were collected as corollaries to the genetic study to understand the lifetime risk of suicidal ideation and behavior among veterans with severe mental illness. Included in the analysis was 3,942 veterans with schizophrenia and 5,414 with bipolar disorder between 2011 and 2014. A history of suicidal ideation or behavior among veterans with severe mental illness was extremely common, according to their results. Seventy percent of veterans with schizophrenia and 82% of veterans with bipolar disorder had a history of suicidal ideation or behavior. The risk for suicidal ideation and behavior was highest among veterans with multiple psychiatric co-morbidities. The findings highlight the need for monitoring of suicide risk among military populations, including those with severe mental illness. More research is needed to understand what factors may put veterans with severe mental illness more at risk, and what the impact of mental health treatment has on prevention. Today, and every day, we thank and honor each of our veterans for their service and sacrifice. References: Harvey, P. D., et al. (2018, July). Suicidal ideation and behavior in US veterans with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Research. If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online. Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741. Elizabeth Hancq is the director of research at the Treatment Advocacy Center. View as Webpage To receive Research Weekly directly in your email inbox on a weekly basis, click here. Questions? Contact us at [email protected] Research Weekly is a summary published as a public service of the Treatment Advocacy Center and does not necessarily reflect the findings or positions of the organization or its staff. Full access to research summarized may require a fee or paid subscription to the publications. The Treatment Advocacy Center does not solicit or accept funds from pharmaceutical companies. Treatment Advocacy Center | 200 N Glebe Rd, Ste 801, Arlington, VA 22203 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!