Citation

Watkins EY, Spiess A, Abdul-Rahman I, Hill C, Gibson N, Nichols J, McLeod V, Johnson L, Mitchell T, Pecko JA, Cox K. Am. J. Public Health 2018; 108(6): 769-776.

Affiliation

Eren Youmans Watkins, Anita Spiess, Ihsan Abdul-Rahman, Christopher Hill, Nkechinyere Gibson, Vanessa McLeod, Joseph Anton Pecko, and Kenneth Cox are with the Directorate of Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Division of Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Practice, Army Public Health Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. Jerrica Nichols is with Defense Health Agency, Public Health Division, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Silver Spring, MD. Latoya Johnson is with the NorthTide Group, LLC, Sterling, VA. Trevor Mitchell is with the Battelle Memorial Institute, Aberdeen, MD.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2018.304410

PMID

29672151

Abstract

The choice of the standard population is important when calculating adjusted rates for a military population: results can influence policies and funding allocations for programs and initiatives for suicide prevention. We describe the methodological considerations and decision-making process used in choosing a standard population for adjusting rates to compare suicide among US Army soldiers and the general US population. We examined 5 different standard populations, using the direct method to adjust annual suicide rates for the Army and the US population, 2004 to 2015, for age and for age and sex. The pattern of the Army and US population age- and sex-adjusted rates remained consistent with crude rates when adjusted to any of the Army standard population distributions. Using an Army distribution as the standard population produces suicide rates consistent with routine messaging about suicide trends among Army soldiers. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 19, 2018: e1-e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304410).

Language: en