Introduction:

Suicide in the military is a growing phenomenon in recent years. The mortality by suicide in the military has surpassed to the mortality by combat or accidents in the last years. An updated documentary review of the national and foreign bibliography published in electronic and printed format on this subject was carried out.

Objective:

This review is carried out with the purpose of deepening the study of epidemiology and risk factors associated with suicide risk in the military.

Development:

Lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation in the military has been reported between 13.9 % and 14.1 %, suicide plan between 2.3 % and 5.3 % and suicide attempt between 1.9 % and 2.4 %. The suicide mortality rate in the military has been estimated at 18.5 per 100,000 persons - year, which represents the second cause of death in that population.

Conclusions:

It is considered a priority to improve the detection and psychological surveillance of the military and facilitate their access to mental health services in order to detect modifiable risk factors for suicide.

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