Source:
CBS NewsA report out of the state of Oregon reinforces the results of a CBS News investigation from last November that found high rates of suicides among those who served in the military.
The state health report, “Violent Deaths in Oregon: 2005” found 18 to 24-year-old male veterans had the highest rate of suicide among all males in the state from 2000 to 2005 – almost 5 times higher than non-veteran males the same age. (The bar chart above shows the figures.)
“We were shocked
,” Lisa Millet, Project Manager for Oregon's Violent Death Reporting System which conducted the study, told CBS News.
Data for the report was collected from local medical examiners, police reports and death certificates. In 2005, veterans accounted for 28 percent of all suicides in Oregon. The majority of the veteran suicides (97 percent) were committed by males. And overall, in the years 2000 to 2005, male veterans died of self-inflicted wounds in Oregon at more than double the rate of male non-veterans.
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/01/25/primarysource/entry3753590.shtml