Adjusting Suicide Rates in a Military Population

Methods to Determine the Appropriate Standard Population

Bibliographic Data

ID11039028
AuthorsEren Youmans Watkins (0009-0006-8487-1891, Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Anita Spiess (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Ihsan Abdul-Rahman (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Imaledo John Abdulrahman (Defense Health Agency), Christopher Hill (0000-0003-2436-1006, Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Nkechinyere Gibson (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Jerrica Nichols (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Vanessa McLeod (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Latoya Johnson (0000-0003-4491-638X, Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Latoya D Johnson (Defense Health Agency), Trevor Mitchell (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Joseph Anton Pecko (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Kenneth Cox (Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC...), Kenneth L Cox (0000-0003-4447-9255, Defense Health Agency)
Year2018
Volume108
Issue6
Pages769-776
Publication date2018-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2018.304410
PMID29672151
OpenAlexW2802099024
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited7

The choice of the standard population is important when calculating adjusted rates for a military population: results can influence policies and funding allocations for programs and initiatives for suicide prevention. We describe the methodological considerations and decision-making process used in choosing a standard population for adjusting rates to compare suicide among US Army soldiers and the general US population. We examined 5 different standard populations, using the direct method to adjust annual suicide rates for the Army and the US population, 2004 to 2015, for age and for age and sex. The pattern of the Army and US population age- and sex-adjusted rates remained consistent with crude rates when adjusted to any of the Army standard population distributions. Using an Army distribution as the standard population produces suicide rates consistent with routine messaging about suicide trends among Army soldiers

Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Population · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies · Gerontology