Table 1.
Descriptive Data on Mental Disorders and Two-Way Combinations of Mental Disorders Among Male Suicide Decedents in the Veterans Health Administration
| Diagnosis | Nature of disorder or comorbiditya | Disorder itself n (%) | Comorbid substance n (%) | Comorbid depression n (%) | Comorbid bipolar n (%) | Comorbid anxiety n (%) | Comorbid schizophrenia n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTSD | Any | 869 (11.7%) | 419 (5.6%) | 618 (8.3%) | 189 (2.5%) | 320 (4.3%) | 155 (2.1%) |
| Pure | 117 (1.6%) | 54 (0.7%) | 123 (1.7%) | 8 (0.1%) | 26 (0.4%) | 8 (0.1%) | |
| Substance | Any | 1,583 (21.3%) | 977 (13.2%) | 330 (4.4%) | 462 (6.2%) | 281 (3.8%) | |
| Pure | 402 (5.4%) | — | 282 (3.8%) | 19 (0.3%) | 43 (0.6%) | 35 (0.5%) | |
| Depression | Any | 2,281 (30.7%) | 482 (6.5%) | 792 (10.7%) | 399 (5.4%) | ||
| Pure | 562 (7.6%) | — | — | 68 (0.9%) | 210 (2.8%) | 72 (1.0%) | |
| Bipolar | Any | 638 (8.6%) | 230 (3.1%) | 229 (3.1%) | |||
| Pure | 53 (0.7%) | — | — | — | 3 (<0.1%) | 31 (0.4%) | |
| Anxiety | Any | 1,080 (14.5%) | 186 (2.5%) | ||||
| Pure | 168 (2.3%) | — | — | — | — | 12 (0.2%) | |
| Schizophrenia | Any | 660 (8.9%) | |||||
| Pure | 129 (1.7%) | — | — | — | — | — |
Note. Data are based on all male patients treated in the VHA in FY 1999 (N = 2,962,810) and all known suicides in this cohort occurring between FYs 2000 and 2006 (N = 7,426). Diagnoses are based on FY 1999 data: Substance = alcohol abuse/dependence or drug abuse/dependence; Anxiety = any anxiety disorder except PTSD. n (%) refers to the number and percent of all male suicide decedents in the database who had a given diagnosis or diagnostic combination. PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder.
Nature of disorder or comorbidity refers to two groups of male suicide decedents: (a) “Any” refers to all those with a given diagnosis or diagnostic combination irrespective of comorbidity, for example, 869 (11.7%) of 7,426 suicide decedents had been diagnosed with PTSD, and 419 (5.6%) had been diagnosed with PTSD plus substance use disorder; (b) “Pure” refers to only those with a given diagnosis or a given diagnostic combination excluding those with other comorbidities, for example, 117 (1.6%) had been diagnosed with PTSD only, and 54 (0.7%) had been diagnosed with PTSD plus substance use disorder but no other mental disorders.