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By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press WriterFri Apr 18, 2:22 AM ET
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.
Only about half of those with mental health problems have sought treatment.
Even fewer of those with head injuries have seen doctors.
Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said the report, from the Rand Corp., was
welcome.
"They're helping us to raise the visibility and the attention that's needed by
the American public at large," said Schoomaker, a lieutenant general. "They are
making this a national debate."
The researchers said 18.5 percent of current and former service members
contacted in a recent survey reported symptoms of depression or post-traumatic
stress. Based on Pentagon data that more than 1.6 million have deployed to the
two wars, the researchers calculated that about 300,000 are suffering mental
health problems.
Nineteen percent or an estimated 320,000 may have suffered head injuries, the
study calculated. Those range from mild concussions to severe, penetrating head
wounds.
"There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our
nation in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Terri Tanielian, the project's co-leader
and a researcher at Rand. "Unless they receive appropriate and effective care
for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for
them and for the nation."
The study, the first large-scale, private assessment of its kind, includes a
survey of 1,965 service members across the country, from all branches of the
armed forces and including those still in the military as well veterans who
have completed their service. The Iraq war has been notable for the repeat
tours required of many troops, sometimes for longer than a year at a time.
The results of the study appear consistent with mental health reports from
within the government, though the Defense Department has not released the
number of people it has diagnosed or who are being treated for mental problems.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said this month that its records show about
120,000 who served in the two wars and are no longer in the military have been
diagnosed with mental health problems. Of those, about 60,000 are suffering
from post-traumatic stress, and depression runs a close second.
Veterans Affairs is responsible for care of service members after they have
leave the military. The Defense Department covers active duty and reservist
needs.
The lack of numbers from the Pentagon was one motivation for the Rand study,
Tanielian said in an interview.
The most prominent and detailed Pentagon study on the military's mental health
that is released regularly to the public is the Army's survey of soldiers,
taken annually at the battle zones since 2003.
The most recent one, last fall, found 18.2 percent of Army soldiers suffered
mental health problems such as depression, anxiety or acute stress in 2007,
compared with 20.5 percent the previous year.
Other studies have variously estimated that 10 percent to 20 percent of troops
had symptoms of mental health problems.
Col. Loree Sutton, who heads a new Pentagon center on brain injury, said the
Rand study will add to the work defense officials are doing. That includes
researching best practices used inside the military and out, improving and
expanding training and prevention programs, adding mental health staff and
trying to change a military culture in which many troops are afraid or
embarrassed to get mental health treatment.
"We've got to get the word out that seeking help is a sign of strength," Sutton
said.
She said officials have been working to add thousands more mental health
professionals to help the uniformed psychiatrists, psychologists and others
struggling to meet the wartime demands of troops and their families. Across the
services, officials are trying to hire over 1,000 additional staff. Also,
companies providing health care by contract to the Pentagon have added over
3,000 in the past year, and the U.S. Public Health Service has provided some
200, she said. Veterans Affairs has added some 3,800 professionals in the past
couple of years, officials there said.
In other survey results:
_About 7 percent of those polled reported both a probable brain injury and
current post-traumatic stress or major depression.
_Rates of post-traumatic stress and major depression were highest among women
and reservists.
_About 53 percent of service members with post-traumatic stress or depression
sought help over the past year, and 43 percent reported being evaluated by a
physician for their head injuries at some time.
_They gave various reasons for not getting help, including that they worried
about the side effects of medication, they believed family and friends could
help them with the problem, or they feared seeking care might damage their
careers.
The Army's own warfront survey found the stigma associated with getting help
has been decreasing slowly but steadily in recent years.
Thursday's report was titled "Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and
Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery." It
was sponsored by a grant from the California Community Foundation and done by
researchers from Rand Health and the Rand National Security Research Division.
The division also has done work under contracts with the Pentagon and other
defense agencies as well as allied foreign governments and foundations.