The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) suicide in former service personnel of the UK armed forces
This study aims to investigate suicide amongst those who have left the UK armed forces, and to make comparisons with serving personnel and the general population.
Documents
Details
Suicide accounts for almost 6,000 deaths per year in the UK and its prevention is a health priority. A number of international studies have examined the incidence of suicide in former military service personnel as well as risk factors associated with suicide.
This study will provide an update to a previous study from 2009, which showed although the overall rate of suicide was not greater than that in the general population, the risk of suicide in young men who had left the armed forces was 2 to 3 times higher than in the same age groups in the general population. Since this study was carried out, there has been no systematic investigation of suicide in UK veterans.
The purpose of the study is to understand the rate, timing and risk factors for suicide for those who have left the UK armed forces between 1996 and 2018. The study will include the linkage of data from the Ministry of Defence on all suicide deaths in serving personnel and all personnel discharged from Armed Forces with data from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) on general population and mental health patient suicides. It will also include a review of coroner’s records and inquest hearings for a sample of veteran suicide deaths. This study will provide more detail of the antecedents of suicide (particularly early and recent vulnerabilities, in-service exposures, difficulties after discharge, living circumstances, and contact with a variety of health and third sector providers) in this population.
The study is funded jointly by the Ministry of Defence, NHS England and NHS Improvement. Further information on the study design and purpose can be found in the attached documents.