• Military service. Veterans who have sustained traumatic brain injury, have separated from the service within the past year, or have PTSD are at particularly high risk of suicide.
"Other important risk factors for suicide attempt include serious adverse childhood events; family history of suicide; prejudice or discrimination associated with being gay, bisexual, or transgender; access to lethal means; and possibly a history of being bullied, sleep disturbances, and such chronic medical conditions as epilepsy and chronic pain. In males, socioeconomic factors such as low income, occupation, and unemployment also are related to suicide risk," Dr. LeFevre and his associates said.
Reprints of the recommendation statement are available here. In addition, resources regarding suicide prevention are available at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, which is supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The USPSTF is an independent, voluntary group supported by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and mandated by Congress to make recommendations about the effectiveness of specific preventive care services for patients. Dr. LeFevre and his associates reported no financial conflicts of interest.