WASHINGTON, April 17, 2008
Nearly 1 In 5 Vets Reports Mental Problems
Study: 300,000 U.S. Troops Suffering From Depression, PTSD; 320,000 Have Brain Injuries
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Only about half of them have sought treatment, says the study released Thursday by the Rand Corp.
A recently completed survey showed 18.5 percent - or 300,000 people - said they have symptoms of depression or PTSD, the researchers said. Nineteen percent - or 320,000 - suffered head injuries ranging from mild concussions to 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 the nonprofit 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," she said in a statement.
The 500-page study is the first large-scale, private assessment of its kind - including 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 left the services.
Its results appear consistent with a number of 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, approximately 60,000 are suffering from PTSD, the VA said.
In December, CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier reported that veterans' advocates say symptoms of PTSD - from substance-abuse to rage to suicidal depression - are misdiagnosed or blamed on the troops themselves.
Veterans Affairs is responsible for care of service members after they have left the service, while 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.
Fast Fact
The most prominent and detailed military study on mental health on the war that is released regularly to the public is the Army's survey of soldiers at the battlefield. Officials said last month that it's most recent one, done last fall, found 18.2 percent of soldiers suffered a mental health problem such as depression, anxiety or acute stress in 2007 compared with 20.5 percent the previous year.Only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year, according to the study.
Other studies have variously estimated that 10 percent to 20 percent had symptoms of mental health problems
The Rand survey done from August through January, put the percentage of PTSD and depression at 18.5 percent and then calculated about 300,000 were suffering those problems at that time because Pentagon data shows over 1.6 million military personnel have deployed to the conflicts since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001.
Col. Loree Sutton, who heads a new Pentagon center on brain injury, welcomed the Rand study, saying it will add to the work defense officials are doing. That includes improving and expanding training, research and mental health staff.
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, companies providing health care by contract to the Pentagon have added over 3,000 in the last year and the U.S. Public Health Service has provided some 200, she said. The veterans department also has added some 3,800 professionals in the last couple of years, officials there said.
Rand researchers also found:
They gave various reasons for not getting help, including that they worried about the side effects of medication; believe family and friends could help them with the problem, or that they feared seeking care might damage their careers.
Rates of PTSD and major depression were highest among women and reservists.
The report is 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 25 researchers from Rand Health and the Rand National Security Research Division, which also has done does work under contracts with the Pentagon and other defense agencies as well as allied foreign governments and foundations.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 121 CommentsNo wonder so many are depressed and are committing suicide.
Would YOU want to seek help if it could mean the loss of your basic constitutional rights, the same rights you risked your life to protect for everyone else?
I''m talking about the right to keep and bear arms.
Soldiers who report mental illness because of war can get their valued second amendment rights taken from them.
This is just plain wrong and it will cause much more problems for all of us.
The GOP way send someone elses kid then when you are done with them throw them away like trash.
"Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation," she said in a statement. ]
this is definitely gwb''s fault.
the republican fix for this will be a $100 co-pay for a month of paxil, zoloft, or prozac ... they''ll send it in the mail ... no need to see a doctor. do it all yourself ... be self sufficient ... no need for assistance from anyone else ... it''s the american way.
Being whipped into a frenzy
and sent to a ''war'' of lies
by recruiters who target your poverty
is not sane.
When you return
broken and discouraged
the same madman
neglects you...
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him."
-- George W. Bush, Sept. 13, 2001
"I don''t know where (Bin Laden) is. You know, I just don''t spend that much time on him....I -- I''ll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him."
-- George W. Bush, March 13, 2002
6 MONTHS AFTER 9/11/01
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And 8 out of 10 Republicans Report Mental Problems!
These people all shared the same goal to catch or kill Osama Bin Laden - the man believed to be responsible for the attacks.
Now that Bush doesn''t even seem to care about finding Osama before starting wars that are based on lies and have nothign to do with getting Bin Laden, we should expect that many of these fine patriots in our military would feel cheated, lied to, and helpless all at the same time.
Posted by zoe2006
While it can be very easy to blame it on the Bush administration and the neocons, never forget that there were many democrats who also supported the invasion fo Iraq including Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and Al Gore.
Posted by gunownerdan at 03:20 PM : Apr 17, 2008
Someone who witnessed a crime, or didn''t prevent it from happening can hardly be considered as guilty as the ones who committed it, no?
While many Dems are to be faulted for their spinelessness the Iraq war is the property of the Bush administration and they Republican toadies - lock, stock and barrel.
Posted by roger_inkart
Maybe Bush and his toadies wrote this speech?
"...intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program.
He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members.....
It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton(D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
Take 19 lunatics with box cutters, add in a cabal of neocon crazies who want to rule the world by force, and what do you get? The end of the world!
Thanks, a bunch repugs! Your reward will be hell on earth, and an eternity in hell thereafter.
Who is making many millions and even billions of dollars from the Iraq war?
Halliburton(Cheney''s company) is one corporation, but there are many others.
It''s called the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX and Eisenhower did warn us about this in his farewell speech.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, January 17, 1961
What war did you fight in? What was your MOS???
ME = VN 67 -68
VN 70-71
SGT USMC
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Posted by brianp55 at 03:49 PM : Apr 17, 2008
When did you serve???
What war did you fight in? What was your MOS???
When did you serve???
What war did you fight in? What was your MOS???
Posted by usmcvn2 at 04:02 PM : Apr 17, 2008
These kinds of posts only scare away Repugs. He''ll never answer. Cheers!
God Bless the Warriors of the World !!
Posted by brianp55 at 03:49 PM : Apr 17, 2008
You must be referring to Pat Tillman - right?
Gee, maybe they thought, (mistakenly!) that the VA system would take care of them, if necessary, after they served! I''m married to a Nam Vet who the VA hospitals and "so-called doctors" have ignored for over 30 yrs. I have seen, first hand how the VA does this, hoping the veteran will die so the gov''t won''t have to pay disability. and BTW, not all republicans are in favor of a warmonger like Bush! Also, since when is McCain a hero? He spent his time in prison, never firing a shot or being fired at. Word is, having "chats" with the enemy got him some decent treatment!
I was a SEAL during the Reagan administration. You can draw your own conclusions, jarhead.
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Posted by chadb19 at 04:44 PM : Apr 17, 2008
LIBS don''t have a clue.
the gift that keeps on giving.
Posted by stevex47
Actually, you can expect more of the same no matter which filthy senator wins.
Wow your kook-aid must be some good stuff. Taken your blinders off lately? Dont do it, becuase Bush has turned this into a scary world. Recession, dollar value, outting CIA agents, gas, war, pollution, global warming. Whatever you do, dont stop drinking the kool-aid. The truth would hurt you too badly.
Um, no. No one could do worse than what we have now.
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