The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that suicide rates among military veterans have decreased, marking the lowest its been since 2006.
Between 2018 and 2020, suicide rates amongst veterans decreased by nearly 10%, the agency said.
“There is nothing more important to VA than preventing Veteran suicide — it’s our top clinical priority,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a statement. “This year’s report shows real progress, but there is still so much work to be done. One Veteran suicide is one too many, and VA will continue to work with our federal, state, local, and private partners to tackle this problem and save Veterans’ lives.”
In 2020, the VA reported 6,146 veterans died from suicide, which was 307 deaths less than what was reported in 2019, marking the sharpest decline
since 2001.
The VA also reported that between 2018 to 2020, the age- and sex-adjusted suicide rate among veterans fell by 9.7%.
Suicides among women veterans fell by 14.1%, compared to 8.4% among non-Veteran women during that same two-year period, the VA reported.
In 2020, the age-adjusted suicide rate for veteran women was the lowest since 2013, and the age-adjusted suicide rate for men veterans was the lowest since 2016, the VA reported.
