Table 2.
ORs for Precipitants and Characteristics of Suicide: Comparisons of Male Veterans and Civilians
| Characteristic | M civilian n=67,716 % |
M Veteran n=22,707 % |
Model 1a,b
OR (95% CI) |
Model 2a,c
AOR (95% CI) |
Model 3a,d
AOR (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health/MH | |||||
| Current MH problem | 40.4 | 38.7 | 0.89 (0.87, 0.92) | 0.93 (0.90, 0.96) | 1.0 (0.97, 1.04) |
| Depressed mood | 40.4 | 41.1 | 1.02 (1.00, 1.06) | 0.90 (0.87, 0.93) | 0.93 (0.90, 0.97) |
| Alcohol problem | 20.3 | 15.7 | 0.73 (0.70, 0.76) | 0.80 (0.77, 0.84) | 0.91 (0.87, 0.96) |
| Other substance problem | 17.1 | 7.6 | 0.40 (0.38, 0.42) | 0.65 (0.61, 0.69) | 0.70 (0.66, 0.75) |
| Suicide attempt history | 17.5 | 12.7 | 0.69 (0.66, 0.72) | 0.91 (0.87, 0.95) | 0.97 (0.92, 1.03) |
| Treatment for MH (ever) | 34.6 | 31.3 | 0.86 (0.83, 0.90) | 0.90 (0.87, 0.94) | 0.97 (0.93, 1.00) |
| Physical health problem | 17.2 | 36.8 | 2.79 (2.70, 2.88) | 1.06 (1.02, 1.11) | 1.10 (1.06, 1.14) |
| Social/Occupational | |||||
| Interpersonal problem | 41.6 | 30.6 | 0.62 (0.60, 0.64) | 0.95 (0.91, 0.98) | 0.99 (0.95, 1.02) |
| Job problem | 15.0 | 11.1 | 0.71 (0.68, 0.74) | 0.82 (0.78, 0.86) | 1.02 (0.97, 1.08) |
| Financial problem | 12.7 | 10.9 | 0.84 (0.80, 0.88) | 0.79 (0.75, 0.83) | 0.91 (0.86, 0.97) |
| Legal problem | 15.8 | 10.7 | 0.64 (0.61, 0.67) | 0.85 (0.81, 0.90) | 0.95 (0.89, 1.00) |
| Recent loss | 7.4 | 8.7 | 1.20 (1.14, 1.27) | 0.87 (0.82, 0.93) | 0.89 (0.83, 0.95) |
| Suicide event | |||||
| Location (home) | 73.3 | 78.8 | 1.35 (1.30, 1.40) | 1.05 (1.01, 1.09) | 0.99 (0.95, 1.03) |
| Suicide note | 31.6 | 34.5 | 1.14 (1.10, 1.18) | 1.07 (1.04, 1.12) | 1.09 (1.05, 1.14) |
| Suicide intent disclosed | 28.2 | 26.7 | 0.93 (0.89, 0.96) | 0.94 (0.91, 0.98) | 0.95 (0.91, 0.99) |
| Suicide method | |||||
| Firearm | 53.3 | 70.4 | 2.08 (2.02, 2.15) | 1.47 (1.44, 1.55) | 1.41 (1.36, 1.47) |
| Hanging/Suffocation | 28.3 | 14.7 | 0.44 (0.42, 0.45) | 0.68 (0.65, 0.72) | 0.71 (0.67, 0.74) |
| Poison/Overdose | 11.7 | 10.4 | 0.87 (0.83, 0.92) | 0.83 (0.78, 0.87) | 0.96 (0.91, 1.02) |
| Other method | 6.7 | 4.5 | 0.65 (0.62, 0.71) | 0.73 (0.67, 0.79) | 0.74 (0.68, 0.80) |
Note: Boldface indicates statistical significance (p<0.05) for Veteran status following adjustment for multiple comparisons using the false discovery rate procedure, with civilians coded as the reference category.
Sample sizes for each analysis differed as information on all covariates and outcomes were not available for all participants. Missing data frequencies did not exceed 5% of initial sample utilized for this study.
Model 1 adjusted for no covariates.
Model 2 adjusted for demographic factors including age, race, ethnicity, education level, marital status, year of death, and region.
Model 3 adjusted for demographic variables outlined in Model 2 as well as health/mental health, social/occupational, and suicide event/method variables using propensity score-based marginal means weighting with stratification.
M, male; MH, mental health.