As we observe World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10, suicide statistics in the United States continue to worsen. The U.S. suicide rate is now 33% higher than it was in 1999, in stark contrast with a downward trend globally.
This disturbing trajectory comes into even greater focus as we also mark the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks tomorrow. Since the attacks in 2001, well over 2.7 million Americans have served on 5.4 million military deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. An alarming number of those who return home live with the horrors of post-traumatic stress disorder. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that at least 500,000 soldiers suffer serious emotional problems, and approximately 20 die by suicide every day. Of those 20, officials say that an estimated 14 are not receiving regular care from the VA. The VA also reports that the suicide rate for veterans is 50% greater than for Americans who never served in the military. Yet prior to these conflicts, the suicide rate among veterans had been traditionally lower than the national average.
As a physician, I can attest that when care is effective, people seek it out even if they risk perceived stigma or other consequences. In the HIV crisis, as medical therapies advanced dramatically, more people were willing to come forward, get tested, and receive treatment. But we haven’t reached that turning point with the epidemic of veteran suicide. The grim reality is that countless troops and veterans have stopped asking for help or worse, never dared to ask in the first place.
Despite significantly increased VA funding for veteran mental health and suicide prevention over the past 15 years, the rate of veteran suicide has surged on. Lawmakers continue to introduce well-intentioned legislation, including recent bills to track veteran suicide prevention outreach and improve veteran well-being. There is a large body of research linking the diagnosis of PTSD with higher rates of suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviors, and suicides. The way to beat back suicide is to attack PTSD. However, when it comes to fighting military-related PTSD, we need so much more from Washington. We need support for developing new PSTD treatments that would motivate people to seek the life-sustaining care they need.
While most Americans now understand what PTSD is and doctors know how to diagnose it, meaningful medical progress has stalled for lack of funding. Private investors and big pharma companies are reluctant to fund research for psychiatric conditions. New treatments can get held up in clinical trials and regulatory approvals, or derailed altogether due to lack of investment. The result is a dearth of advanced PTSD therapies. There has been no new medication treatment approved for PTSD since 2001.
The trauma-focused psychotherapies long-endorsed by the VA are not always available where veterans live, and they provide uncertain benefits, particularly for the serving and veteran military populations. The two FDA-approved PTSD medications were both developed nearly 20 years ago. The more recent approval was in 2001, but neither has demonstrated efficacy with military-related PTSD. While we’ve been sending soldiers to constant war with the most sophisticated weapons on earth, our active and former military have been left with outdated, inadequate options for behavioral healthcare and recovery.
I’m CEO of a company dedicated to developing a safe and effective treatment for PTSD. In our clinical trials with over 500 servicemembers and veterans with military-related PTSD, we’ve heard about participants’ experiences with therapies that failed to help, and the daily wreckage in their lives. Those who have attempted suicide talk about having reached a state where no treatments offer relief, all hope is gone, and they see no daylight.
The responsibility to show our wounded war-fighters some daylight falls on all of our shoulders, especially the medical industry, military and veterans’ agencies, and legislators. Those of us pursuing new medicines must persist and secure clinical trial funding. The VA can help drive a bold agenda for President Trump’s new task force to prevent veteran suicide. Congress can build on its track record of bi-partisan support for veterans by funding and accelerating research and development for PTSD therapeutics. There are at least three advanced treatment candidates developed by private industry and a non-profit organization that our government could help bring to market. The cost of further delay on any of these fronts will be counted in lives lost.
This is a national emergency. Far too many of our warriors are back home, yet they are not out of harm’s way. We’re on the brink of new PTSD therapies that could give us a historic edge in this fight. It’s time to pull together, deploy our awareness, harness new technologies and defeat this epidemic.
Seth Lederman, M.D., is a physician and CEO of Tonix Pharmaceuticals. His earlier research at Columbia University included work on HIV and discovering the molecular basis for the T-cell helper function.
