Citation

Adkisson K, Cunningham KC, Dedert EA, Dennis MF, Calhoun PS, Elbogen EB, Beckham JC, Kimbrel NA. Arch. Suicide Res. 2018; ePub(ePub): 1-10.

Affiliation

VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research , Education, and Clinical Center , Durham , NC , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13811118.2018.1488638

PMID

29952737

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: 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.

METHODS: 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.

RESULTS: 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.

CONCLUSIONS: While 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.

Language: en

Keywords

cannabis; marijuana; suicide attempts; veterans