Suicide Risk in Military Personnel during the COVID-19 Health Emergency in a Peruvian Region: A Cross-Sectional Study

Mario J. Valladares-Garrido (), Cinthia Karina Picón-Reátegui, J. Pierre Zila-Velasque, Pamela Grados-Espinoza, Cristian M. Hinostroza-Zarate, Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas () and César Johan Pereira-Victorio
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Mario J. Valladares-Garrido: South American Center for Education and Research in Public Health, Universidad Norbert Wiener, Lima 02002, Peru
Cinthia Karina Picón-Reátegui: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Chiclayo 14000, Peru
J. Pierre Zila-Velasque: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrion, Pasco 19001, Peru
Pamela Grados-Espinoza: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrion, Pasco 19001, Peru
Cristian M. Hinostroza-Zarate: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrion, Pasco 19001, Peru
Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas: Research Unit for Generation and Synthesis Evidence in Health, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima 02002, Peru
César Johan Pereira-Victorio: School of Medicine, Universidad Continental, Lima 02002, Peru

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-16

Abstract: Military personnel represent a frontline group exposed to multiple stressors. These factors have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, predisposing to the development of suicidal risk (SR). Given the few studies conducted in this population, we evaluated the prevalence of SR and its associated factors during the health emergency. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in person among 514 participants in Lambayeque, Peru in 2021. The outcome was SR, and the exposures were depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), PTSD (PCL-C), and other sociodemographic variables. The prevalence of SR was 14.0% (95% CI: 11.12–17.31%) and was significantly higher in people with a family history of mental health (PR: 2.16; 95% CI: 1.13–4.15) and in those with moderate clinical insomnia (PR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.19–4.12). Military personnel with high resilience had a lower prevalence of SR (PR: 0.54, CI: 0.31–0.95). Anxiety was associated with a higher prevalence of SR (PR: 3.27; 95% CI: 1.76–6.10). Our findings show that at least 1 out of 10 military personnel are at risk of suicide. Special attention should be paid to the associated factors to develop interventions and reverse their consequences. These results may be useful in policy implementation and general statistics of SR in the local and regional context.

Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; suicide risk; public health; post-traumatic stress disorder; sleep quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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