Association Between Positive Results on the Primary Care–Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screen and Suicide Mortality Among US Veterans | Depressive Disorders | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Association Between Positive Results on the Primary Care–Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screen and Suicide Mortality Among US Veterans | Depressive Disorders | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Veterans who screen positive for PTSD have high suicide risk right after diagnosis, study says

Veterans who screen positive for post-traumatic stress disorder have a high risk of dying by suicide soon after the test, according to new research. Scientists looked at data from more than 1.5 million veterans who were screened for PTSD in 2014, and a confirmed diagnosis was associated with a 58% increased risk of dying by suicide in the day after veterans got their result. This trend decreased with time: The increased risk of suicide a year after a positive PTSD screen was 26%. On the four-part PTSD screening, an affirmative response to the question of whether an individual "felt numb or detached from others, activities, or [their] surroundings" was associated with a 70% increased risk of dying by suicide the day after diagnosis.