Cannabis Use Disorder and Post-Deployment Suicide Attempts in Iraq/Afghanistan-Era Veterans

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to use retrospective data to test the hypothesis that cannabis dependence would be associated with an increased rate of post-deployment suicide attempts. Participants included 319 veterans who had deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan. Study procedures involved completion of a structured clinical interview and a battery of self-report questionnaires. As expected, lifetime cannabis dependence was significantly associated with post-deployment suicide attempts, AOR = 7.963, p = .014, even after controlling for the effects of pre-deployment suicide attempts, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, pain, non-cannabis substance use disorder, and gender. Although preliminary, our findings provide the first evidence to date that heavy cannabis use may be a unique risk factor for post-deployment suicide attempts among veterans.

Keywords:

• cannabis
• marijuana
• suicide attempts
• veterans

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (#R01MH080988), the Rehabilitation Research & Development Service of Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development, the Department of Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, and the Research and Development and Mental Health Services of the Durham VA Medical Center. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the VA or the U.S. government.

Notes on contributors

Kelsie Adkisson

Kelsie Adkisson, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Katherine C. Cunningham

Katherine C. Cunningham, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Eric A. Dedert

Eric A. Dedert, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Michelle F. Dennis

Michelle F. Dennis, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Patrick S. Calhoun

Patrick S. Calhoun, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham, NC, USA.

Eric B. Elbogen

Eric B. Elbogen, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Jean C. Beckham

Jean C. Beckham, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Nathan A. Kimbrel

Nathan A. Kimbrel, Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA; VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Durham, NC, USA.