Military
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Nearly 1 in 5 troops has mental problems after war service
Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more. As many or more report possible brain injuries from explosions or other head wounds, said the study, the first major survey from outside the government.
Brain • Depression • Military • PTSD • (0) Comments • Permalink
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Army Worried by Rising Stress of Return Tours
Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about the mental health of soldiers who would be sent back to the front again and again under plans that call for troop numbers to be sustained at high levels in Iraq for this year and beyond. Among combat troops sent to Iraq for the third or fourth time, more than one in four show signs of anxiety, depression or acute stress, according to an official Army survey of soldiers’ mental health.
Burnout • Military • PTSD • Stress • (0) Comments • Permalink
Friday, March 07, 2008
A fifth of soldiers at PTSD risk
More than five years of recycling soldiers through Iraq and Afghanistan’s battlefields is creating record levels of mental health problems, as about three in 10 GIs on their third tour admit emotional illnesses, according to an Army study released Thursday.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
PTSD a medical warning sign for long-term health problems
Geisinger research finds that veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are as likely to have long-term health problems as people with chronic disease risk factors such as an elevated white blood cell counts and biological signs and symptoms. However, few healthcare providers screen for PTSD in the same way as they screen for other chronic disease risk factors.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Depression linked to earlier death: study
A new study suggests that older adults with a history of depression may live a shorter life than those without the disorder—but past battles with post-traumatic stress disorder may not carry the same risk. Researchers found that of nearly 36,000 patients in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system, those who’d been diagnosed with depression had a higher risk of dying over the next two years.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Soldier Suicides at Record Level
Suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 reached their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980, according to a draft internal study obtained by The Washington Post. Last year, 121 soldiers took their own lives, nearly 20 percent more than in 2006. At the same time, the number of attempted suicides or self-inflicted injuries in the Army has jumped sixfold since the Iraq war began. Last year, about 2,100 soldiers injured themselves or attempted suicide, compared with about 350 in 2002, according to the U.S. Army Medical Command Suicide Prevention Action Plan.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Military Study Links Battlefield Concussions to Stress Disorder
About one in six combat troops returning from Iraq have suffered at least one concussion in the war, injuries that, while fleeting, could heighten their risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers are reporting. The study, given early release on Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine, is the military’s first large-scale attempt to gauge the effect of mild head injuries — concussions, many of them from roadside blasts — which some experts worry may be causing a host of unrecognized neurological deficits.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Study tracks stress disorder in U.S. troops
About 9 percent of U.S. troops who have performed combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan report experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a study led by Defense Department researchers. The study, published on Tuesday in the British Medical Journal, provides the latest estimate of this mental disorder among U.S. troops returning from those wars.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Effectiveness of most PTSD therapies is uncertain
Many people, including significant proportions of active duty military personnel and veterans, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often in conjunction with other injuries or illnesses. While several drugs and psychotherapies are used to treat PTSD, many of the studies concerning their effectiveness have problems; as a result, they do not provide a clear picture of what works and what doesn’t, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.
Veteran stress cases up sharply
The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder from the Department of Veterans Affairs jumped by nearly 20,000 — almost 70% — in the 12 months ending June 30, VA records show.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Docs struggle with mysteries of TBI
The war in Iraq is not over, but one legacy is already here in this city and others across America: an epidemic of brain-damaged soldiers. Thousands of troops have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, or TBI. These blast-caused head injuries are so different from the ones doctors are used to seeing from falls and car crashes that treating them is as much faith as it is science.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Traumatic brain injury: Common wound of war
Since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, about 2,100 troops have been formally diagnosed with TBI. But officials estimate up to 150,000 troops may have suffered concussions — mild TBIs — from roadside bomb attacks. According to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, a research and treatment agency run by the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department, 64 percent of injured troops have suffered brain injuries.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
One-fifth of female airmen in combat get PTSD
About 20 percent of Air Force women who have deployed since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 are experiencing at least one major symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a survey of 1,114 service women conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.
“Transition unit” at Fort Carson to help GIs heal
Fort Carson has a new “warrior transition unit,” where wounded soldiers are to report with one mission: heal. By Jan. 1, the Army plans to have “warrior transition units” in place at installations throughout the service. The goal is to better manage care for the nation’s wounded soldiers with hopes of restoring their health, whether they stay in the Army or not.
Mental Wounds Need Same Attention as Physical Ones
Psychological wounds are just as devastating to servicemembers and families as physical wounds, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said after meeting with servicemembers and veterans undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at Tripler Army Medical Center here yesterday.