Traumatic Stress Found in 20% of Soldiers Post-Iraq

June 30 (Bloomberg) — Almost 20 percent of U.S. soldiers returning from combat duty in Iraq have signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, and few receive treatment because of the stigma of mental illness in the military, according to a study in the July 1 New England Journal of Medicine.

The survey is the first to measure mental-health symptoms before, during and after a war and will help authorities plan care for soldiers who need it, the researchers said. Less than half of the soldiers who reported mental disorders sought treatment, the study said.

This data is already being used to shape and enhance and improve existing programs,'' said Carl A. Castro from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which conducted the study.Because we know that organizational barriers and cultural stigma exist, one thing we want to do is be more proactive in reaching out to soldiers and Marines who need help.’’

About 6,200 Army and Marine Corps soldiers took the anonymous survey before and after serving on the front lines in Iraq or Afghanistan. Almost 20 percent of those who responded after they returned from Iraq reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress, using a broad definition of the disorder.

Post-traumatic stress affects more than 5 million Americans, typically after experiencing physical or sexual abuse or witnessing violence on the battlefield, said the National Institutes of Health.

Symptoms

Symptoms, often triggered by sights or smells, include flashbacks, loss of interest in favorite activities, suppressed emotions, anxiety, trouble concentrating and outbursts of anger.

As many as 30 percent of the soldiers surveyed after returning from Iraq or Afghanistan said they experienced anxiety, depression or stress. Between 12 percent and 17 percent of them met more serious criteria for major depression, generalized anxiety or post-traumatic stress, the study found.

Soldiers sent to Iraq were more likely to have taken part in firefights and combat than those sent to Afghanistan and were at greater risk of the disorder as a result, the study found. About 9 percent of soldiers who went to Iraq indicated they had mental- health symptoms before they went into combat.

About one-quarter of those answering the survey also said they misused alcohol or wanted to cut down on their drinking.

We're saying to the world we have nothing to hide,'' William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said during a press conference in Washington.This is about getting better at something that is important and that our leadership considers important.’’

Shell Shock

Post-traumatic stress syndrome was conceived as a unique condition after the Vietnam War. Similar symptoms were noted during earlier conflicts and labeled with terms such as shell- shock.'' The condition affects 3 percent to 4 percent of the general U.S. population and as many as 15 percent of Vietnam veterans examined years after that conflict ended.These soldiers are debilitated just as much as if they had a physical injury, and if we had gotten to them sooner we could have lessened the severity and even helped cure them,’’ said Castro, a military scientist.

About 140,000 U.S. troops currently are in Iraq and 9,000 are in Afghanistan. The military screens soldiers for mental health problems before they are deployed, while they are in combat and after they return, Castro said. In addition, anyone can call a toll-free number anonymously and get confidential counseling from a civilian, he said.

Numbers May Increase

The number of affected soldiers may rise with time because the survey was conducted shortly after they left the battlefield and symptoms sometimes develop months or years later, wrote Matthew J. Friedman of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for PTSD, in an editorial accompanying the study. The center is in White River Junction, Vermont.

The results force us to acknowledge the psychiatric cost of sending young men and women to war,'' he wrote an editorial that accompanied the study. Pfizer Inc.'s Zoloft and GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Paxil are the only drugs approved for treating post-traumatic stress disorder. Counseling and other forms of therapy are also used to help patients deal with the condition and recover from trauma. Doctors and the military must realize most cases of the disorder are a normal response to a harrowing experience, said Sally Satel, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Soldiers returning now are respected and appreciated more for their sacrifices, even by those who oppose the war, than fighters who returned from Vietnam, she said.What kind of environment the soldier comes back to contributes significantly to how well they readjust to civilian life and how quickly their symptoms subside,’’ Satel said in a telephone interview. ``We want to make sure they realize the chances are excellent that it will resolve and not reinforce the notion that these guys are going to be incapacitated.’’

To contact the reporter on this story:

Michelle Fay Cortez in Minneapolis mcortez@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:

Robert Simison in Washington rsimison@bloomberg.net

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aDPvv0ImYX8k&refer=us