Veterans With Parkinson’s Disease at Higher Risk of Suicide

AURORA, CO — A Parkinson’s Disease (PD) diagnosis has been shown to increase patients’ risk of suicide, according to a new study.

The article in Parkinsonism & Related Disorders pointed out, however, that little research has been done on the risk of suicide among veterans with PD. To remedy that, researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the VHA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention, both in Aurora, CO, sought to examine the associations between PD and risk of suicide, as well as suicide means among veterans using VHA services.¹

The retrospective cohort study involved VHA patients between Jan. 1, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2019.

Researchers determined that the unadjusted hazard of death by suicide for those with a PD diagnosis, relative to those without, was 1.51 (95% CI: 1.32-1.72, p < 0.0001), and was still significant after controlling for age/gender, and psychiatric/chronic physical health diagnoses (HR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.32-1.72, p < 0.0001; HR: 1.21, 95% CI:1.06-1.38, p = 0.006, respectively).

“Compared to the non-PD cohort, the PD group also had higher rates of mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders,” the researchers reported. “There was no significant difference between the method of suicide for those with PD versus those without PD (p = 0.60). Most suicide deaths among both cohorts were firearm-related (PD = 78.9%, No-PD = 80.3%).”

The study concluded that PD is associated with an elevated risk for suicide. “Based on the high rate of deaths by firearm, increased efforts to facilitate lethal means safety among veterans is warranted,” the authors advised.

1. Heronemus M, Hostetter TA, Smith AA, Forster JE, Brenner LA. Parkinson’s disease and suicide among individuals seeking care within the United States Veterans Health Administration. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2022 Dec;105:58-61. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2022.11.003. Epub 2022 Nov 4. PMID: 36370654.