> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.coios.me/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Former US service members died of despair causes more often than civilians in two states
- URL: https://www.coios.me/former-us-service-members-died-of-despair-causes-more-often/
- Published: 2026-09-23T13:02:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T21:35:28.000Z
- Description: Linking Massachusetts and Minnesota death certificates for 176,719 decedents aged 18-64 to military personnel files, former service members had proportionate mortality ratios for alcohol, drug and suicide deaths of 111.9 in Massachusetts and 106.7 in Minnesota relative to non-military decedents.
- Author: Daniel Ryan
- Tags: Behavioural science, Alcohol, drugs and suicide, United States, #peer-reviewed, #refines, #item, #source-2026-09

Death certificates for decedents aged 18-64 in Massachusetts (2014-2021) and Minnesota (2014-2022) were linked to military personnel files; 9.5% of the 176,719 decedents were former service members. Age- and sex-standardised proportionate mortality ratios for deaths of despair were 111.9 in Massachusetts and 106.7 in Minnesota, driven by suicide in both states and by drug-related deaths in Massachusetts, and such deaths occurred a median of 20 to 30 years after separation from service.

*Why it is interesting: Puts a measured size on the veteran excess in alcohol, drug and suicide deaths, and places it two to three decades after leaving service rather than immediately after.*

Source

[American Journal of Epidemiology, 21 September 2026](https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwag233?ref=coios.me)

DOI

10.1093/aje/kwag233

Type

Peer-reviewed article

Design

Linkage of state death certificates to military personnel files, 176,719 decedents aged 18-64 (Massachusetts 2014-2021, Minnesota 2014-2022)

Verdict

Refines prior evidence

Driver

[Alcohol, drugs and suicide](https://www.coios.me/d-alcohol-drugs-suicide/)