Background: The study is the first to take a population-based approach to the analysis of suicide in ADF personnel.
Aim: The study quantifies incidence of suicide among serving and ex-serving ADF personnel with at least one day of service from 2001; identifies factors that may be associated with suicide; and establishes measures for population suicide monitoring.
Methods: A population-based study design with linked administrative data from the Department of Defence and mortality data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare were used to identify suicides. Linking existing administrative data cost-effectively maximises the use of data while enabling population-based analysis. Standardised mortality ratios and crude rates were used to estimate suicide risk in the study population and changes in risk over time. Logistic regression was used to model service-related suicide risk factors for ex-serving personnel.
Results: In 2001–2015, 325 suicides were identified in the study population. Across all age groups combined, and compared with Australian men, men serving in the ADF had lower suicide risk; ex-serving men had similar risk. In those aged 18–29, ex-serving men had higher suicide risk than Australian men. Ex-serving men of all ages who were medically discharged or discharged in ranks other than commissioned officer had higher suicide risk than their peers.
Conclusion: Suicide risk in serving and ex-serving ADF personnel varied from the Australian population. In ex-serving personnel, there was some variation by service-related characteristics. Updated analysis to 2016 will be released in 2018. Annual updates will inform policy development and evaluation.