US war veterans need more mental help -study
Source: Reuters
By Andrew Stern CHICAGO, March 12 (Reuters) - Almost one-third of U.S. soldiers seeking government health care after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with a mental problem, researchers said on Monday in a study calling for more emphasis on the mental wounds of war. Diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other problems were most prevalent among younger soldiers, the veterans study found. The challenge to provide better care to soldiers with mental problems as well as physical wounds comes amid revelations of substandard care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and other Veterans Affairs hospitals. The revelations have prompted the resignations of the Army secretary and the Army surgeon general. Study author Dr. Karen Seal of the University of California and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center said the prevalence of mental problems among veterans threatens "to bring the war back home as a costly personal and public health burden." "Our results signal a need for improvements in the primary prevention of military service-related mental health disorders, particularly among our youngest service members," Seal wrote in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The study found that 25 percent of U.S. veterans returning from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan sought government-sponsored care, compared to 10 percent of Vietnam war veterans. Of the nearly 104,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who sought care at Veterans Affairs facilities between September 2001 and the end of 2005, 32,010, or 31 percent, were diagnosed with at least one mental health problem. Post-traumatic stress disorder, which has symptoms that include flashbacks and can become debilitating, was diagnosed in 13,205 veterans, or 13 percent. By comparison, post-traumatic stress afflicted 15 percent of U.S. soldiers who fought in Vietnam, while 3.5 percent of the general population is afflicted, according to other research cited by the study. The incidence of mental problems found in the latest study was about the same among men and women and among different racial groups but younger soldiers were more likely to be afflicted than older ones. Soldiers younger than 25 also are more likely to be assigned to combat units than older service members. "Our findings suggest that enhanced prevention, detection, and treatment should be targeted at the youngest veterans younger than 25 years, particularly those in the active duty components," Seal wrote. The overall proportion of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from mental health problems was consistent with recent research, she said. "The majority of military personnel (serving in Iraq and Afghanistan) experience high-intensity guerrilla warfare and the chronic threat of roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices," Seal wrote. "Some soldiers endure multiple tours of duty, many experience traumatic injury and more of the wounded survive than ever before."
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