A 2013 report released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) paints a bleak picture of suicide involving veterans. In the most comprehensive study of veteran suicides ever conducted by the VA, researchers found the percentage of all suicides reported as veterans has decreased slightly since 1999, but the estimated total number of veteran suicides has increased. The report found that an estimated 22 veterans committed suicide in America each day in 2010, almost one every hour.
The researchers found that the majority of veteran suicides (almost 70%) are committed by veterans age 50 or older. They determined that the period of highest risk for suicide is the first four weeks after someone leaves the military. They also concluded that Vietnam and female veterans are high risk demographic groups when it comes to suicide.
The most common means of committing suicide is drug overdose or poisoning, according to the study.
