US soldier suicides at highest level for 26 years

The number of serving US soldiers who commit suicide has reached its highest level in 26 years, a military report revealed on Aug. 16. The study -- obtained by the Associated Press before its official release -- found that more than a quarter of those who killed themselves had done so while on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. A total of 99 suicides among serving US troops were confirmed last year, up from 88 in 2005. The figure equated to 17.3 suicides per 100,000 soldiers, compared with an average of 12.3 per 100,000 over the last 26 years. In 2001, the figure stood at 9.1 per 100,000. The report said Iraq was "the most common deployment location" for suicides and attempted suicides last year. The 99 deaths included 28 soldiers who had been deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan and 71 who had not been sent to the war zones. Around twice as many women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide as women who had not been sent to war, the report said. Preliminary figures for the first half of this year indicated that the number of troop suicides could decline across the service but increase among soldiers inside war zones during 2007, officials said. The rise in 2006 came as US army officials worked to set up new initiatives to provide mental health care for a force strained by the longer than expected conflict in Iraq and the global "war on terror," which is now entering its sixth year. Failed personal relationships, legal and financial problems and the stress of their jobs were all factors in pushing soldiers to suicide, the report concluded. "In addition, there was a significant relationship between suicide attempts and number of days deployed" in Iraq, Afghanistan or nearby countries in which troops are involved in conflict. Around a quarter of those who killed themselves had a history of suffering from at least one psychiatric disorder. Of those, some 20 percent had been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as bipolar depression, and 8 percent had been diagnosed with anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder -- a characteristic of the conflict in Iraq. Firearms were found to be the most common method of suicide. Those who attempted to kill themselves but did not succeed tended more often to take overdoses and cut themselves. The US army said the research had been compiled from reports collected as part of its suicide prevention program. The reports are required for all "suicide-related behaviors that result in the death, hospitalization or evacuation" of a soldier.