title: Suicide mortality among male veterans discharged from Veterans Health Administration acute psychiatric units from 2005 to 2010.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to calculate suicide rates and identify correlates of risk in the year following discharge from acute Veterans Health Administration psychiatric inpatient units among male veterans discharged from 2005 to 2010 (fiscal years).
  
  
  
  Suicide rates and standardized mortality ratios were calculated. Descriptive analyses were used to describe suicides and non-suicides and provide base rates for interpretation, and unadjusted and adjusted proportional hazard models were used to identify correlates of suicide.
  
  
  
  From 2005 to 2010, 929 male veterans died by suicide in the year after discharge and the suicide rate was 297/100,000 person-years (py). The suicide rate significantly increased from 234/100,000 py (95% CI = 193-282) in 2005 to 340/100,000 py (95% CI = 292-393) in 2008, after which it plateaued. Living in a rural setting, HR (95% CI) = 1.20 (1.05, 1.36), and being diagnosed with a mood disorder such as major depression, HR (95% CI) = 1.60 (1.36, 1.87), or other anxiety disorder, HR (95% CI) = 1.52 (1.24, 1.87), were associated with increased risk for suicide.
  
  
  
  Among male veterans, the suicide rate in the year after discharge from acute psychiatric hospitalization increased from 2005 to 2008, after which it plateaued. Prevention efforts should target psychiatrically hospitalized veterans who live in rural settings and/or are diagnosed with mood or other anxiety disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, 400 Fort Hill Avenue, Canandaigua, NY, 14424, USA. peter.britton@va.gov.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA. peter.britton@va.gov.
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Britton
authors.affiliation: Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Kipling M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bohnert
authors.affiliation: Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ilgen
authors.affiliation: Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, 400 Fort Hill Avenue, Canandaigua, NY, 14424, USA.
authors.forename: Cathleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.affiliation: Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, 400 Fort Hill Avenue, Canandaigua, NY, 14424, USA.
authors.forename: Brady
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.affiliation: Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, 400 Fort Hill Avenue, Canandaigua, NY, 14424, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Wilfred R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Pigeon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Inpatients; Mood disorder; Patient discharge; Rural population; Suicide; Veterans