Dataset Information
Undetected suicide attempts among U.S. soldiers: results from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS).
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
While previous studies have reported high rates of documented suicide attempts (SAs) in the U.S. Army, the extent to which soldiers make SAs that are not identified in the healthcare system is unknown. Understanding undetected suicidal behavior is important in broadening prevention and intervention efforts.Methods
Representative survey of U.S. Regular Army enlisted soldiers (n = 24 475). Reported SAs during service were compared with SAs documented in administrative medical records. Logistic regression analyses examined sociodemographic characteristics differentiating soldiers with an undetected SA v. documented SA. Among those with an undetected SA, chi-square tests examined characteristics associated with receiving a mental health diagnosis (MH-Dx) prior to SA. Discrete-time survival analysis estimated risk of undetected SA by time in service.Results
Prevalence of undetected SA (unweighted n = 259) was 1.3%. Annual incidence was 255.6 per 100 000 soldiers, suggesting one in three SAs are undetected. In multivariable analysis, rank ⩾E5 (OR = 3.1[95%CI 1.6-5.7]) was associated with increased odds of undetected v. documented SA. Females were more likely to have a MH-Dx prior to their undetected SA (Rao-Scott χ21 = 6.1, p = .01). Over one-fifth of undetected SAs resulted in at least moderate injury. Risk of undetected SA was greater during the first four years of service.Conclusions
Findings suggest that substantially more soldiers make SAs than indicated by estimates based on documented attempts. A sizable minority of undetected SAs result in significant injury. Soldiers reporting an undetected SA tend to be higher ranking than those with documented SAs. Undetected SAs require additional approaches to identifying individuals at risk.
SUBMITTER: Naifeh JA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC11839331 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Undetected suicide attempts among U.S. soldiers: results from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS).
Psychological medicine 20240801 11
<h4>Background</h4>While previous studies have reported high rates of documented suicide attempts (SAs) in the U.S. Army, the extent to which soldiers make SAs that are not identified in the healthcare system is unknown. Understanding undetected suicidal behavior is important in broadening prevention and intervention efforts.<h4>Methods</h4>Representative survey of U.S. Regular Army enlisted soldiers (<i>n</i> = 24 475). Reported SAs during service were compared with SAs documented in administra ...[more]