2024 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report

Excerpt:  “The report shows that there were 6,407 suicides among Veterans in 2022, lower than 12 of 14 previous years but three more than in 2021. Among non-Veterans, there were 41,484 suicides in 2022, 1,476 higher than 2021. Additional key report findings include decreases in suicide rates for: 1) Women Veterans: From 2021 to 2022, age-adjusted suicide rates for female Veterans decreased by 24.1%, while for female non-Veteran U.S. adults, suicide rates increased by 5.2%. For male Veterans, age-adjusted suicide rates increased by 1.6%, while for male non-Veteran U.S. adults, rates increased by 1.8%. 2) Homeless Veterans: Veterans with a documented history of homelessness in their VA medical records saw a 19.1% reduction in suicide from 2021 to 2022. 3) Transitioning service members: For those who separated from the military in 2021, the suicide rate over the next 12 months was 46.2 per 100,000. This was lower than for those who separated in 2020 and down from a high of 51.0 per 100,000 for those who separated in 2019. 4) Younger Veterans: The suicide rate for Veterans aged 18-34 years decreased by 3.8% from 2021 to 2022. 5) Veterans with mental health conditions (long-term trend): From 2001 to 2022, suicide rates fell for Veterans receiving VHA care with diagnoses of anxiety (36.1%), depression (34.5%), post-traumatic stress disorder (31.6%), alcohol use disorder (13.7%).”