Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Food Insecurity and Suicidal Ideation: Results from a National Longitudinal Study of Military Veterans

Food Insecurity and Suicidal Ideation: Results from a National Longitudinal Study of Military... Abstract Objective Research examining social determinants of suicide risk in veterans suggests a potential link between food insecurity and subsequent suicidal ideation in military veterans. The objective of this study is to investigate, if and how, food insecurity predicts subsequent suicidal ideation in a nationally representative longitudinal survey of veterans. Methods A national longitudinal survey was analyzed of participants randomly drawn from over one million U.S. military service members who served after September 11, 2001. N = 1,090 veterans provided two waves of data one year apart (79% retention rate); the final sample was representative of post-9/11 veterans in all 50 states and all military branches. Results Veterans with food insecurity had nearly four times higher suicidal ideation one year later compared to veterans not reporting food insecurity (39% vs 10%). In multivariable analyses controlling for demographic, military, and clinical covariates, food insecurity (OR = 2.37, p =.0165) predicted suicidal ideation one year later, as did mental health disorders (OR = 2.12, p = .0097). Veterans with both food insecurity and mental health disorders had a more than nine-fold increase in predicted probability of suicidal ideation in the subsequent year compared to veterans with neither food insecurity nor mental health disorders (48.5% vs. 5.5%). Conclusion These findings identify food insecurity as an independent risk marker for suicidal ideation in military veterans in addition to mental disorders. Food insecurity is both an indicator of and an intervention point for subsequent suicide risk. Regularly assessing for food insecurity, and intervening accordingly, can provide upstream opportunities to reduce odds of suicide among veterans. HIGHLIGHTS Military veterans with food insecurity were at elevated risk of suicidal ideation. Veterans with mental health disorders had higher odds of suicidal ideation one year later. Food insecurity plus mental health disorders led to a substantial increase in suicidal ideation. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Archives of Suicide Research Taylor & Francis

Food Insecurity and Suicidal Ideation: Results from a National Longitudinal Study of Military Veterans

16 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/taylor-francis/food-insecurity-and-suicidal-ideation-results-from-a-national-pqRS9eVuxz

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2023 United States Department of Veterans Affairs
ISSN
1543-6136
eISSN
1381-1118
DOI
10.1080/13811118.2023.2200795
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract Objective Research examining social determinants of suicide risk in veterans suggests a potential link between food insecurity and subsequent suicidal ideation in military veterans. The objective of this study is to investigate, if and how, food insecurity predicts subsequent suicidal ideation in a nationally representative longitudinal survey of veterans. Methods A national longitudinal survey was analyzed of participants randomly drawn from over one million U.S. military service members who served after September 11, 2001. N = 1,090 veterans provided two waves of data one year apart (79% retention rate); the final sample was representative of post-9/11 veterans in all 50 states and all military branches. Results Veterans with food insecurity had nearly four times higher suicidal ideation one year later compared to veterans not reporting food insecurity (39% vs 10%). In multivariable analyses controlling for demographic, military, and clinical covariates, food insecurity (OR = 2.37, p =.0165) predicted suicidal ideation one year later, as did mental health disorders (OR = 2.12, p = .0097). Veterans with both food insecurity and mental health disorders had a more than nine-fold increase in predicted probability of suicidal ideation in the subsequent year compared to veterans with neither food insecurity nor mental health disorders (48.5% vs. 5.5%). Conclusion These findings identify food insecurity as an independent risk marker for suicidal ideation in military veterans in addition to mental disorders. Food insecurity is both an indicator of and an intervention point for subsequent suicide risk. Regularly assessing for food insecurity, and intervening accordingly, can provide upstream opportunities to reduce odds of suicide among veterans. HIGHLIGHTS Military veterans with food insecurity were at elevated risk of suicidal ideation. Veterans with mental health disorders had higher odds of suicidal ideation one year later. Food insecurity plus mental health disorders led to a substantial increase in suicidal ideation.

Journal

Archives of Suicide ResearchTaylor & Francis

Published: May 10, 2023

Keywords: Food insecurity; military; suicidal ideation; veterans

References