More American veterans die by suicide than previously reported: study

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- More American veterans died by suicide than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had previously reported, a new study has found.

The number of suicides among American veterans is 1.37 times greater in eight states than the VA had reported from 2014 to 2018, according to a study released by a nonprofit organization earlier this month.

If these eight states and age adjustment represented a national rate, it would mean about 24 veterans die by suicide each day, compared with the VA's average of 17.7 suicides in that time frame, the study found.

The report examined data from Alabama, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, and Oregon.

Those eight states, which represent 18 percent of all U.S. veterans, were said to be the only states to provide usable data.

The nonprofit organization contracted with The University of Alabama and partnered with Duke University to gather state-provided death data.