Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep 30:243:97-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2016.06.011. Epub 2016 Jun 16.

A 12-Month prospective study of the effects of PTSD-depression comorbidity on suicidal behavior in Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans

Affiliations

A 12-Month prospective study of the effects of PTSD-depression comorbidity on suicidal behavior in Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans

Nathan A Kimbrel et al. Psychiatry Res. .

Abstract

The present study used validated clinical interviews to assess the effect of comorbid PTSD-depression on suicidal behavior over the course of 12 months in 309 Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans. Logistic regression models demonstrated that comorbid PTSD-depression was a statistically significant predictor of suicide attempts at the 12-month follow-up in both the total sample and in the subset of veterans with PTSD/depression (n=98). In contrast, gender, age, race, sexual orientation, and baseline history of suicide attempts did not have significant effects. These findings suggest that comorbid PTSD-depression may be a significant risk factor for future suicidal behavior in veterans.

Keywords: Depression; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Suicide attempts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Rates of suicidal ideation and behavior at 12-month follow-up by baseline PTSD-depression status

References

    1. DeBeer BB, Kimbrel NA, Meyer EC, Gulliver SB, Morissette SB. Combined PTSD and depressive symptoms interact with post-deployment social support to predict suicidal ideation in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans. Psychiatry Res. 2014;216:357–362. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Guerra VS, Calhoun PS, Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center Workgroup Examining the relation between posttraumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation in an OEF/OIF veteran sample. J Anxiety Disord. 2011;25:12–18. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jakupcak M, Cook J, Imel Z, Fontana A, Rosenheck R, McFall M. Posttraumatic stress disorder as a risk factor for suicidal ideation in Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. J Trauma Stress. 2009;22:303–306. - PubMed
    1. Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson C. Post-traumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995;52:1048–1060. - PubMed
    1. Kimbrel NA, Calhoun P, Elbogen E, Brancu M, VA Mid-Atlantic MIRECC Registry Workgroup. Beckham JC. The factor structure of psychiatric comorbidity among Iraq/Afghanistan-ear veterans and its relationship to violence, incarceration, suicide attempts, and suicidality. Psychiatry Res. 2014;220:397–403. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms