Risk factors for fatal accidents and suicides in peacekeepers: is there an overlap?

OBJECTIVE Previous research has indicated that there is an increased risk of fatal accidents in veterans of military operations and that such accidental deaths may be related to mental health problems. This study was conducted to investigate fatal accidents in Norwegian former peacekeepers. METHODS A subgroup of alcohol-related fatal accidents was identified. Interview data with next of kin, military data and police report data from 17 cases of alcohol-related fatal accidents were compared with data from 28 cases of other accidents and 43 cases of suicide among Norwegian veterans of peacekeeping service. RESULTS The alcohol-related fatal accidents were found to share many common features with the suicide group, such as depression, alcohol and substance abuse, and various social problems, and were also found to differ significantly from the other fatal accidents. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate a need for preventive measures directed at reducing the risk of premature death not only from suicide, but also from accidental death.