Suicide Attempts and Ideation Among Veterans/Service Members and Non-Veterans Over 5 Years Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Combined NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Study

Abstract

Objective: This study compared rates of suicide attempt (SA) and suicidal ideation (SI) during the first 5 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI) among veterans and service members (V/SMs) in the Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Model Systems National Databases to each other and to non-veterans (non-Vs) in the NIDILRR database.

Setting: Twenty-one NIDILRR and 5 VA TBI Model Systems (TBIMS) inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States.

Participants: Participants with TBI were discharged from rehabilitation alive, had a known military status recorded (either non-V or history of military service), and successful 1-, 2-, and/or 5-year follow-up interviews completed between 2009 and 2021. The year 1 cohort included 8737 unique participants (8347 with SA data and 3987 with SI data); the year 2 (7628 participants) and year 5 (4837 participants) cohorts both had similar demographic characteristics to the year 1 cohort.

Design: Longitudinal design with data collected across TBIMS centers at 1, 2, and 5 years post-injury.

Main outcomes and measures: History of SA in past year and SI in past 2 weeks assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Patient demographics, injury characteristics, and rehabilitation outcomes were also assessed.

Results: Full sample rates of SA were 1.9%, 1.5%, and 1.6%, and rates of SI were 9.6%, 10.1%, and 8.7% (respectively at years 1, 2, and 5). There were significant differences among groups based on demographic, injury-related, mental/behavioral health, and functional outcome variables. Characteristics predicting SA/SI related to mental health history, substance use, younger age, lower functional independence, and greater levels of disability.

Conclusions: Compared with participants with TBI in the NIDILRR system, higher rates of SI among V/SMs with TBI in the VA system appear associated with risk factors observed within this group, including mental/behavioral health characteristics and overall levels of disability.