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Suicide was the 12th-leading cause of death for veterans in 2022. However, fewer veterans died by suicide in 2022 than in 12 of the previous 14 years, according to the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report released by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The review is the most comprehensive national report on veteran suicide and is based on verified data from the Centers for Disease Control and US Department of Defense from 2001-2022, or the most recent years the VA has data.
The report states that 6407 veterans died by suicide in 2022, 3 more than the year before. For comparison, 41,484 nonveteran US adults died by suicide in 2022, 1476 more than 2021. It is important to assess suicide mortality rates in the context of population changes, the report cautions. From 2001-2022, the veteran population dropped from 25.8 million to 18.5 million, a 28.4% decrease. During that same period, the nonveteran US adult population increased from 186.5 million to 242.4 million, a 30.0% jump.
On average, 131 US adults died by suicide each day in 2022: 18 veterans and 114 nonveterans. Among all US adults, including veterans, the average number of suicides per day rose from 81 per day in 2001 to 131 per day in 2022. The average number of veteran suicides per day rose from 16.5 in 2001 to 17.6 in 2022.
“Hope serves an important role within suicide prevention efforts,” the VA said. “Within the challenges faced in 2022, key areas of hope emerged.”
Among those key findings are a 24.1% decrease in age-adjusted suicide rates, a 37% suicide rate reduction among individuals who received VA homeless program services, 3.8% suicide rate decrease in veterans aged 18 to 34 years, and considerable drops in suicide rates for veterans with Veterans Health Administration mental health diagnoses of anxiety (36.1%), depression (34.5%), posttraumatic stress disorder (31.6%), and alcohol use disorder (13.7%).
Eliminating veteran suicide is VA’s top clinical priority and a critical aspect of the strategy for reducing military and veteran suicide. Since 2022, VA has worked aggressively to expand support, including offering no-cost health care to veterans in suicidal crisis; launching the 988 (then press 1) hotline, qualified responders through the Veterans Crisis Line; expanding firearm suicide prevention efforts; and encouraging veterans to reach out for help through a national veteran suicide prevention awareness campaign.
“There is nothing more important to VA than ending veteran suicide,“ said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough. “We will learn from this report to better serve veterans and save lives.”
Suicide was the 12th-leading cause of death for veterans in 2022. However, fewer veterans died by suicide in 2022 than in 12 of the previous 14 years, according to the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report released by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The review is the most comprehensive national report on veteran suicide and is based on verified data from the Centers for Disease Control and US Department of Defense from 2001-2022, or the most recent years the VA has data.
The report states that 6407 veterans died by suicide in 2022, 3 more than the year before. For comparison, 41,484 nonveteran US adults died by suicide in 2022, 1476 more than 2021. It is important to assess suicide mortality rates in the context of population changes, the report cautions. From 2001-2022, the veteran population dropped from 25.8 million to 18.5 million, a 28.4% decrease. During that same period, the nonveteran US adult population increased from 186.5 million to 242.4 million, a 30.0% jump.
On average, 131 US adults died by suicide each day in 2022: 18 veterans and 114 nonveterans. Among all US adults, including veterans, the average number of suicides per day rose from 81 per day in 2001 to 131 per day in 2022. The average number of veteran suicides per day rose from 16.5 in 2001 to 17.6 in 2022.
“Hope serves an important role within suicide prevention efforts,” the VA said. “Within the challenges faced in 2022, key areas of hope emerged.”
Among those key findings are a 24.1% decrease in age-adjusted suicide rates, a 37% suicide rate reduction among individuals who received VA homeless program services, 3.8% suicide rate decrease in veterans aged 18 to 34 years, and considerable drops in suicide rates for veterans with Veterans Health Administration mental health diagnoses of anxiety (36.1%), depression (34.5%), posttraumatic stress disorder (31.6%), and alcohol use disorder (13.7%).
Eliminating veteran suicide is VA’s top clinical priority and a critical aspect of the strategy for reducing military and veteran suicide. Since 2022, VA has worked aggressively to expand support, including offering no-cost health care to veterans in suicidal crisis; launching the 988 (then press 1) hotline, qualified responders through the Veterans Crisis Line; expanding firearm suicide prevention efforts; and encouraging veterans to reach out for help through a national veteran suicide prevention awareness campaign.
“There is nothing more important to VA than ending veteran suicide,“ said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough. “We will learn from this report to better serve veterans and save lives.”
Suicide was the 12th-leading cause of death for veterans in 2022. However, fewer veterans died by suicide in 2022 than in 12 of the previous 14 years, according to the 2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report released by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The review is the most comprehensive national report on veteran suicide and is based on verified data from the Centers for Disease Control and US Department of Defense from 2001-2022, or the most recent years the VA has data.
The report states that 6407 veterans died by suicide in 2022, 3 more than the year before. For comparison, 41,484 nonveteran US adults died by suicide in 2022, 1476 more than 2021. It is important to assess suicide mortality rates in the context of population changes, the report cautions. From 2001-2022, the veteran population dropped from 25.8 million to 18.5 million, a 28.4% decrease. During that same period, the nonveteran US adult population increased from 186.5 million to 242.4 million, a 30.0% jump.
On average, 131 US adults died by suicide each day in 2022: 18 veterans and 114 nonveterans. Among all US adults, including veterans, the average number of suicides per day rose from 81 per day in 2001 to 131 per day in 2022. The average number of veteran suicides per day rose from 16.5 in 2001 to 17.6 in 2022.
“Hope serves an important role within suicide prevention efforts,” the VA said. “Within the challenges faced in 2022, key areas of hope emerged.”
Among those key findings are a 24.1% decrease in age-adjusted suicide rates, a 37% suicide rate reduction among individuals who received VA homeless program services, 3.8% suicide rate decrease in veterans aged 18 to 34 years, and considerable drops in suicide rates for veterans with Veterans Health Administration mental health diagnoses of anxiety (36.1%), depression (34.5%), posttraumatic stress disorder (31.6%), and alcohol use disorder (13.7%).
Eliminating veteran suicide is VA’s top clinical priority and a critical aspect of the strategy for reducing military and veteran suicide. Since 2022, VA has worked aggressively to expand support, including offering no-cost health care to veterans in suicidal crisis; launching the 988 (then press 1) hotline, qualified responders through the Veterans Crisis Line; expanding firearm suicide prevention efforts; and encouraging veterans to reach out for help through a national veteran suicide prevention awareness campaign.
“There is nothing more important to VA than ending veteran suicide,“ said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough. “We will learn from this report to better serve veterans and save lives.”
