population,variable,value,comparison,direction,source,year,notes
U.S. Military (active duty),Suicide rate per 100k,23.8,General population (age/sex adjusted): identical,No protection,Pentagon Annual Report on Suicide in the Military CY2024,2024,"302 active duty suicides; 471 total force; rate decreased 11% from 2023 but long-term trend still rising since 2011"
U.S. Military (active duty),Suicide rate trend 2011-2024,Gradually increasing,Mirrors U.S. population trend,No protection,Pentagon Annual Report on Suicide CY2024,2024,"The overall trend in suicide rates for active duty service members mirrors the increase in the U.S. population suicide rates over time"
Special Operations Forces,Suicide rate vs general military,~30% higher,General military population,WORSE,SOCOM/American Association of Suicidology Psychological Autopsy Study,2007-2015,"117 SOF suicides 2007-2015; study commissioned by USSOCOM"
Special Operations Forces,Attempt-to-death ratio,2:1,Regular forces: 15:1,Far more lethal,Suicidal Behavior in US Army SOF (PMC12357185),2024,"Operators 70-90% LESS likely to report ideation or make non-fatal attempts but death rate nearly identical"
Special Operations Forces,Suicidal ideation vs gen forces,70-90% lower,Regular Army soldiers,Lower ideation,Suicidal Behavior in US Army SOF (PMC12357185),2024,"Lower ideation but higher lethality when attempts occur"
Combat arms (infantry/artillery),Suicide rate per 100k,35.7,Total active duty: 23.2,50% higher,Pentagon Annual Report CY2024 (first occupational breakdown),2024,"First time Pentagon broke down suicide by military occupation; no other occupation group had substantively higher or lower risk"
Elite athletes (professional),Suicidal ideation prevalence,6.9-18%,General population: comparable,Comparable,Sports Medicine systematic review (PubMed 38407749),2024,"22 studies; majority found athletes at reduced or equal risk vs gen pop"
Elite athletes,Depression/anxiety rates,Comparable to gen pop,General population,No protection,"Mental Health of Elite Athletes systematic review (PMC4996886); McLean Hospital",2016/2025,"46.4% of Australian athletes met clinical cutoff; 27.2% depression rate in one sample"
Elite athletes (retired),Suicide risk,Higher than gen pop average,Active athletes: lower,Worse after retirement,"Wolters Kluwer / J Psychiatric Practice review",2024,"Former athletes more at risk than active; effect of structure disappears"
Monks/nuns (Bavarian cloisters),Gender mortality gap,~1 year,General population: 5-7 years,Dramatically better,"Luy 2003, Population and Development Review",1890-1995,"n=11,000+; entire excess is behavioral not biological"
Monks (Catholic),SES mortality gradient,ZERO,General population: 7 years between high/low education,Eliminated,"Schmitz Lazarevič Luy 2025, J Health and Social Behavior",1840-1959,"n=2,421; low-educated monks = high-educated gen pop men"
Religious service attendance,Social support explains,~25% of effect,Remaining 75% unexplained by any social variable,Partial,"Li et al 2016 (JAMA Intern Med); VanderWeele 2017 (Current Directions Psych Sci)",2016-2017,"Attendance stronger predictor than marriage, friends, relatives, hours in groups"
Religious service attendance,Effect on suicidal ideation,Not protective (after controlling social support),Effect on attempts/completions: protective,Structural not psychological,"Lawrence et al 2016 systematic review (Arch Suicide Res, 89 studies; PMC7310534)",2016,"Religion prevents the ACT not the THOUGHT; mechanism is moral prohibition, community detection, meaning framework"
Cohabitation rate (U.S.),Trend 1960-2025,~0.1% → 7.0%,Marriage rate declining simultaneously,Rising while binding declines,"Census/CPS; Pew Research",1960-2025,"76% of 2015-2019 marriages preceded by cohabitation"
Young adults married (U.S.),Trend 1978-2020,59% → 30%,Cohabitation rising but not compensating,Dramatic decline,"Census/CPS",1978-2020,""
Gallup attendance question,Wording,"Did you yourself happen to attend church synagogue mosque or temple in the past seven days",,Covers all faiths,Gallup,1939-present,"Earlier wording was 'church or synagogue'; mosque and temple added later"
Muslim Americans,Service attendance trend,34% (2000-03) → 38% (2021-23),Overall U.S. attendance declining,INCREASED,Gallup aggregated 2021-2023 (n=32445),2000-2023,"Counter-trend; peaked at 46% in 2011-2013"
Jewish Americans,Synagogue attendance trend,15% (2000-03) → 22% (2021-23),Overall U.S. attendance declining,INCREASED,Gallup aggregated 2021-2023,2000-2023,"Steady increase over two decades"
Volunteering + attendance,Mortality reduction interaction,60% lower mortality,Volunteering alone or attendance alone: less protective,Amplifying,"Musick et al (PubMed 22021599)",2011,"Volunteering more protective among weekly attenders; combination outperforms either alone"
Drug overdose deaths (U.S.),Trend 1990-2022,~10000 → ~108000,10x increase,Dramatic rise,CDC WONDER,1990-2022,"Predominantly opioid-driven after 2015"