By Sean Gorman
Politifact.com
January 25, 2019
Topping Donald Trump’s 10-point plan to help U.S. military
veterans is a pledge to improve their mental health services.
"A shocking 20 veterans are committing suicide each and every day,
especially our older veterans," the President said during a speech in
Virginia Beach, where he excoriated the Department of Veterans
Affairs and laid out reforms.
We wondered whether Trump’s sad suicide number is correct.
The VA examined about 55 million veterans records from 1979
through 2014.
It found that in 2014, the latest year for which figures are
available, that 7,403 veterans took their own lives, or an
average of about 20 veterans a day.
The count updates a much-cited VA estimate that an average
of 22 veterans killed themselves each day in 2010.
The VA always acknowledged that this old study was limited,
because it was based on veterans living in only 21 states.
Notably absent were California and Texas - two states with very
high veteran populations.
The new figure of 20 veteran suicides a day is based on records
from every state.
The VA said that 65 percent of veterans who took their own lives in
2014 were 50 or older, a finding that jibes with Trump’s statement
that the daily suicides especially pertained to "older veterans."
For context, it should be noted that 75 percent of the nation’s
veterans are 50 or older.
On the other hand, the VA found that younger veterans had the
highest rate of suicides.
Those ages 18 to 29 had a suicide rate of 77 per 100,000 in 2014.
Veterans ages 50 to 59, by comparison, had a rate of 39 per
100,000.
In all age groups, the VA found that the percentage of veterans
who take their lives was substantially higher than that of adults
who never served in the military.
The rate for non-veterans ages 18 to 29, for example,
was 12.8 per 100,000.
The rate for non-vets ages 50 to 59 was 18.6 per 100,000.
The 2014 suicide rate for all veterans was 35.3 per 100,000;
the rate for all adult non-vets was 15.2 per 100,000.
After adjusting for differences in age and gender, the VA concluded
that veterans have a 21 percent higher risk of suicide than non-
serving adults.
Is the situation improving?
During a July 7 news conference, VA officials were asked whether
their research shows that there has been improvement in the
veteran suicide problem, since the updated number, 20 deaths a
day, was lower than the previous estimate of 22.
David Shulkin, the VA’s undersecretary for health, said the
department doesn’t view the new number as a sign of progress.
Shulkin said the average number of daily suicides may decreasing
because the aging population of veterans also is waning.
He stressed, however, that the suicide rate for veterans was rising.
VA figures show that the veterans suicide rate actually has
increased 32 percent since 2001.
That compares with a 23 percent increase in the rate for non-vets
during the same period.
According to the new report, the suicide rate among veterans
who used VA services increased 8.8 percent since 2001, while
the rate among veterans who didn’t use those services increased
38.6 percent.
Critics have said focusing on the daily number of veteran suicides
is pointless and that attention should be fixed on examining the
veteran suicide rate and how it compares with the rest of the
country.
Shulkin, during the news conference, said the daily suicide rate
figure has become so "ingrained" in public conversation that the
VA decided to recalculate it to ensure it’s correct.
Our Ruling
President Trump said, "A shocking 20 veterans are committing
suicide each and every day, especially our older veterans."
His claim is supported by recent research by the VA and we rate
the statement True.
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