Longitudinal Risk for Suicidal Self-Directed Violence Among Veterans With Cancer.
Veterans with cancer face persistent suicide risk years into survivorship, especially younger and unmarried veterans—highlighting groups needing focused mental health screening.
This large national VA cohort study (n=292,271) characterized longitudinal SSDV risk among veterans with cancer over 10 years, identifying persistent risk for younger, unmarried, and CNS-cancer patients extending 5+ years into survivorship. The identification of previously overlooked high-risk subgroups including Asian veterans, younger veterans, and those with thyroid cancer provides an actionable framework for targeted suicide prevention screening in oncology care.
What the study was
- Study design
- National cohort study
- Population
- 292,271 US veterans with cancer (2014-2023, VA national registry)
- Sample size
- 292271
- Category
- Public Health
- Maturity
- Validated
- Journal
- JAMA Oncol
Why it surfaced
JAMA Oncol, n=292,271, 10-year national VA cohort. Identifies previously-overlooked high-risk subgroups (younger, Asian, thyroid cancer). Public health impact high. STANDARD (UNDERSERVED_POPULATION flag; not EARLY_CANCER_DETECTION/NOVEL_TREATMENT).
A plain-language summary of published research — not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own care.