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. 2019 Oct-Dec;23(4):678-687.
doi: 10.1080/13811118.2018.1488638. Epub 2018 Nov 17.

Cannabis Use Disorder and Post-Deployment Suicide Attempts in Iraq/Afghanistan-Era Veterans

Kelsie Adkisson, Katherine C Cunningham, Eric A Dedert, Michelle F Dennis, Patrick S Calhoun, Eric B Elbogen, Jean C Beckham, Nathan A Kimbrel

Cannabis Use Disorder and Post-Deployment Suicide Attempts in Iraq/Afghanistan-Era Veterans

Kelsie Adkisson et al. Arch Suicide Res. 2019 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to use retrospective data to test the hypothesis that cannabis dependence would be associated with an increased rate of post-deployment suicide attempts. Participants included 319 veterans who had deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan. Study procedures involved completion of a structured clinical interview and a battery of self-report questionnaires. As expected, lifetime cannabis dependence was significantly associated with post-deployment suicide attempts, AOR = 7.963, p = .014, even after controlling for the effects of pre-deployment suicide attempts, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, pain, non-cannabis substance use disorder, and gender. Although preliminary, our findings provide the first evidence to date that heavy cannabis use may be a unique risk factor for post-deployment suicide attempts among veterans.

Keywords: cannabis; marijuana; suicide attempts; veterans.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between Cannabis Abuse, Cannabis Dependence, and Suicide Attempts among Iraq/Afghanistan-era Veterans
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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