Richard Tafoya
Apr 17th, 2008, 12:54 PM
LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stress18apr18,0,6748314.story
Nearly one in five veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is currently suffering from depression or stress disorders, according to the latest and most comprehensive study of current and former military service members, released today.
Less than half of those 300,000 veterans have received care for depression or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the study, signaling significant problems with the U.S. mental healthcare system.
The study shows that the stress disorders may be more prevalent and lasting than previously known. Although the Army has conducted annual evaluations of troops deployed in Iraq, the new study, conducted by the Rand Corp. and funded by the California Community Foundation, is the first to try and assess the mental health of the 1.65 million service members that have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Amid reports of increased mental health problems, the Army has been dramatically stepping up its screening of soldiers at the end of their tours.
But the Rand study argues many soldiers and Marines are still slipping through the cracks in the bureaucratic system. The symptoms of depression and PTSD can appear months after an incident, and so mental problems that appear later may never be caught, the study said.
Based on interviews with 1,965 current and former service members, the study asked how many had suffered from PTSD within the previous 30 days and suffered from depression within the previous two weeks.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stress18apr18,0,6748314.story
Nearly one in five veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is currently suffering from depression or stress disorders, according to the latest and most comprehensive study of current and former military service members, released today.
Less than half of those 300,000 veterans have received care for depression or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to the study, signaling significant problems with the U.S. mental healthcare system.
The study shows that the stress disorders may be more prevalent and lasting than previously known. Although the Army has conducted annual evaluations of troops deployed in Iraq, the new study, conducted by the Rand Corp. and funded by the California Community Foundation, is the first to try and assess the mental health of the 1.65 million service members that have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Amid reports of increased mental health problems, the Army has been dramatically stepping up its screening of soldiers at the end of their tours.
But the Rand study argues many soldiers and Marines are still slipping through the cracks in the bureaucratic system. The symptoms of depression and PTSD can appear months after an incident, and so mental problems that appear later may never be caught, the study said.
Based on interviews with 1,965 current and former service members, the study asked how many had suffered from PTSD within the previous 30 days and suffered from depression within the previous two weeks.