Healio (3/2, VanDewater) reports that among older veterans, “frailty was positively associated with risk for suicide attempts and negatively associated with risk for suicide death, according to data” from a study that “identified 2,858,876 veterans aged 65 years or older who received care from the Veterans Health Administration from October 2011 to September 2013.” An assessment of “31 frailty variables revealed the risk for suicide attempt was higher among veterans with lung disease…use of durable medical equipment and resources… chronic pain,” anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder, while the risk “was lower among veterans with no dementia diagnosis… incontinence… heart failure…and diagnosis of failure to thrive.” These results were published online Feb. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Related Links:
— “Frailty in geriatric veterans indicates risk for suicide attempt, death “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, March 2, 2023