Leading causes of death among U.S. veterans from 2019 to 2021

In 2021, the leading causes of death among veterans in the United States were heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19. Heart disease and cancer account for the majority of deaths among U.S. veterans, which is also true for people in the United States in general. The leading causes of death among veterans vs the U.S. as a wholeAlthough the leading causes of death for U.S. veterans are similar to the overall leading causes of death in the United States, there are some differences. For example, even though heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death for the entire United States and veterans specifically, death rates for both heart disease and cancer are much higher among veterans. In 2021, the death rate for heart disease among veterans was 267 per 100,000 population, compared to an overall rate of 167 per 100,000 population for the United States in 2022. Another clear difference is that while suicide was the seventh leading cause of death among veterans in 2021, it was not even among the leading ten causes of death for the United States as a whole.Suicide among veteransGiven the stressful and often dangerous work of U.S. military personnel, the mental health of U.S. veterans remains a prevalent issue. In 2021, it was estimated that around 10 percent of U.S. veterans had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, while three percent made suicide plans, and two percent attempted suicide. That year there were around 6,392 suicide deaths among veterans in the United States. Veterans suffering from substance use disorders or mental health conditions are much more likely to die from suicide than veterans who do not have such disorders.

2021年，美国退伍军人的主要死因分别为心脏病、癌症和COVID-19。心脏病与癌症是美国退伍军人死亡的主要原因，这一现象在普通美国人中也普遍存在。尽管美国退伍军人的主要死因与美国整体的主要死因相似，但仍存在一些差异。例如，尽管心脏病和癌症是美国整体以及退伍军人的主要死因，但两者的死亡率在退伍军人中显著更高。2021年，退伍军人心脏病的死亡率为每10万人267人，而2022年美国的整体死亡率为每10万人167人。另一个明显的差异是，自杀在2021年是退伍军人的第七大死因，而它甚至没有进入美国整体十大死因之列。鉴于美国军事人员的职业往往充满压力和危险，美国退伍军人的心理健康问题依然是一个突出的议题。2021年，估计大约有10%的美国退伍军人在过去一年内有严重的自杀想法，其中3%制定了自杀计划，2%尝试了自杀。当年，美国退伍军人自杀死亡人数约为6,392人。患有物质使用障碍或心理健康状况的退伍军人比那些没有此类障碍的退伍军人更有可能死于自杀。