Occupational differences in US Army suicide rates

Area of Science:

• Military suicide research
• Occupational health
• Deployment-related stress

Background:

• Civilian suicide rates differ by occupation, influenced by occupational stress.
• Military studies show elevated suicide rates in combat arms occupations.
• The impact of deployment history on military suicide rates remains under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the combined effects of Army occupation and deployment history on suicide risk.
• To investigate how deployment status modifies suicide rates within specific military occupations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of an administrative dataset of 729,337 male enlisted Regular Army soldiers (2004-2009).
• Examined joint associations between Army occupation, deployment history, and suicide prediction.

Main Results:

• Infantrymen and combat engineers had significantly elevated suicide rates (37.2 and 38.2 per 100,000 person-years, respectively).
• Suicide rates for these combat roles were lower when currently deployed compared to never or previously deployed.
• Never-deployed infantrymen and combat engineers showed the highest adjusted suicide risk (OR 2.9).

Conclusions:

• Deployment history interacts with military occupation to influence suicide risk.
• The "healthy warrior effect" does not fully explain these variations.
• Further research into causal mechanisms is crucial for developing targeted suicide prevention interventions for soldiers.