Comments on: Veteran’s suicide: A problem, but CBS report exaggerates the statistics http://www.bloggernews.net/111684 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:22:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Nan http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-822439 Nan Sun, 14 Dec 2008 03:44:40 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-822439 I just did my master's thesis on this case. I have to agree with Nancy Reyes. I think CBS was well intentioned by did not understand who the veteran population is and how we are cared for. I and my whole family are veterans yet non of us have ever stepped foot in a VA facilty. The only folks that do are those that have no health insurance. The VA only tracks those who receive their services and those folks are at a higher risk for suicide based on demographics having nothing to do with combat duty. I have 4 son's in Iraq now and they are all over 24. The age is is a valid point also. To deal with this issue we have to understand the epidemiology of the cases. It will take a lot more than a statistician to analyze. By the way, you can get a transcript off the internet of the congressional hearings. I've been buried in both of them for weeks. Dr. Rathbun said he was put in a very bad situation by CBS news. He was asked to destroy his data and it was not peer reviewed. I just did my master’s thesis on this case. I have to agree with Nancy Reyes. I think CBS was well intentioned by did not understand who the veteran population is and how we are cared for. I and my whole family are veterans yet non of us have ever stepped foot in a VA facilty. The only folks that do are those that have no health insurance. The VA only tracks those who receive their services and those folks are at a higher risk for suicide based on demographics having nothing to do with combat duty. I have 4 son’s in Iraq now and they are all over 24. The age is is a valid point also. To deal with this issue we have to understand the epidemiology of the cases. It will take a lot more than a statistician to analyze. By the way, you can get a transcript off the internet of the congressional hearings. I’ve been buried in both of them for weeks. Dr. Rathbun said he was put in a very bad situation by CBS news. He was asked to destroy his data and it was not peer reviewed.

]]> By: Nancy Reyes http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-585872 Nancy Reyes Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:39:51 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-585872 Dr. Davila: I have published a peer review article in a medical journal. And the statistics that were "adjusted" for population are the VA statistics. Many veterans don't go to the VA, so they are not the estimate for all veterans, or even all veterans who have served in a war (for example, my veteran husband never goes to the VA so would not be in their statistics). Dr. Davila: I have published a peer review article in a medical journal.

And the statistics that were “adjusted” for population are the VA statistics. Many veterans don’t go to the VA, so they are not the estimate for all veterans, or even all veterans who have served in a war (for example, my veteran husband never goes to the VA so would not be in their statistics).

]]> By: Dr. Davila http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-330212 Dr. Davila Fri, 09 May 2008 15:59:09 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-330212 Wow! I wonder if the author, Nancy Reyes, actually read the good Statistician from Gerogia's report? Did you Nancy? Do you have a copy you can post online? This blogger has some hudspah! Until she's published a single peer-reviewed article using statistics, she has absolutely no leg to stand on. Show me another statistician who has a genuine complaint about Dr. Rathburn's anylsis, and maybe I'll pay attention to you...Until then, you better blog about something else. You only bring fists to this gunfight! As a scientist who has published statistical data in peer-reviewed journals, I must say that any dilletante statistician would know to used matched controls for statistical comparison (age, background, location, and many many more importnat environmental variables). Any underinformed blogger who does a little online research can come to their own relatively useless conclusions. But when one forcefully disagrees with the HEAD OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA"S STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT who presented his results to the House of Representatives & the chief of the National Institute of Mental Health, Thomas Insel, you are going to need a little bit more of a background in statistical analysis!!! Skylar...please excuse me! I was so livid about this blog that I didn't read your response until after I wrote this reply. I apparently agree with you (except for the genius part...it doesn't take a genius to perform or apply or even interpret statistical analysis, but it does require an informed person! :) Wow! I wonder if the author, Nancy Reyes, actually read the good Statistician from Gerogia’s report? Did you Nancy? Do you have a copy you can post online?

This blogger has some hudspah! Until she’s published a single peer-reviewed article using statistics, she has absolutely no leg to stand on. Show me another statistician who has a genuine complaint about Dr. Rathburn’s anylsis, and maybe I’ll pay attention to you…Until then, you better blog about something else. You only bring fists to this gunfight!

As a scientist who has published statistical data in peer-reviewed journals, I must say that any dilletante statistician would know to used matched controls for statistical comparison (age, background, location, and many many more importnat environmental variables).

Any underinformed blogger who does a little online research can come to their own relatively useless conclusions. But when one forcefully disagrees with the HEAD OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA”S STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT who presented his results to the House of Representatives & the chief of the National Institute of Mental Health, Thomas Insel, you are going to need a little bit more of a background in statistical analysis!!!

Skylar…please excuse me! I was so livid about this blog that I didn’t read your response until after I wrote this reply. I apparently agree with you (except for the genius part…it doesn’t take a genius to perform or apply or even interpret statistical analysis, but it does require an informed person! :)

]]> By: Chaplain Willis"Buddy"Clark,Jr. http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-142155 Chaplain Willis"Buddy"Clark,Jr. Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:15:06 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-142155 One Suicide is one too many. We need to really listen and love each other One Suicide is one too many. We need to really listen and love each other

]]> By: Skyler http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-128580 Skyler Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:56:11 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-128580 You'd think you'd take a second to actually read the methodology before slamming it. From the article: "We asked the acting head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Georgia, Steve Rathbun, to calculate the rate of suicide for 2004 to 2005. Rathbun adjusted the rates of suicide for age, gender and any potential error in the gathering of the raw data by the states." You're looking at data adjusted for gender and age. Not the raw data. You're clearly not a genius, it's not that hard a concept, they had 5 months and a professional stat guy to figure that one out. Control your ADD and read the whole article before spreading baseless smears. You’d think you’d take a second to actually read the methodology before slamming it. From the article:

“We asked the acting head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Georgia, Steve Rathbun, to calculate the rate of suicide for 2004 to 2005. Rathbun adjusted the rates of suicide for age, gender and any potential error in the gathering of the raw data by the states.”

You’re looking at data adjusted for gender and age. Not the raw data. You’re clearly not a genius, it’s not that hard a concept, they had 5 months and a professional stat guy to figure that one out. Control your ADD and read the whole article before spreading baseless smears.

]]> By: Robert G. Bolduc http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-128269 Robert G. Bolduc Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:22:52 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/111684#comment-128269 I would really like to print a copy of this article, but can't seem to figure it out. My next-door neighbor is an Army Colonel whose son committed suicide after returning from Afghanistan. I do not know him well enough to e-mail him a link, but would like to have the article available, if I can bring up the subject, and he seems interested. Thank you. I would really like to print a copy of this article, but can’t seem to figure it out. My next-door neighbor is an Army Colonel whose son committed suicide after returning from Afghanistan.

I do not know him well enough to e-mail him a link, but would like to have the article available, if I can bring up the subject, and he seems interested.

Thank you.

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