Wartime post-traumatic stress cases jump by 50%
Pastor Dale Morgan
Wartime post-traumatic stress cases jump by 50%*
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of troops with new cases of post-traumatic
stress disorder jumped by roughly 50% in 2007 amid the military buildup
in Iraq and increased violence there and in Afghanistan.
Records show roughly 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with the illness,
also known as PTSD, since 2003. Officials believe that many more are
likely keeping their illness a secret.
"I don't think right now we ... have good numbers," Army Surgeon General
Eric Schoomaker said Tuesday.
Defense officials had not previously disclosed the number of PTSD cases
from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Army statistics showed there were nearly 14,000 newly diagnosed cases
across the services in 2007 compared with more than 9,500 new cases the
previous year and 1,632 in 2003.
Schoomaker attributed the big rise over the years partly to the fact
that officials started an electronic record system in 2004 that captures
more information, and to the fact that as time goes on the people
keeping records are more knowledgeable about the illness.
He also blamed increased exposure of troops to combat.
Factors increasing troop exposure to combat in 2007 included President
Bush's troop buildup and the fact that 2007 was the most violent year in
both conflicts.
More troops also were serving their second, third or fourth tours of
duty — a factor mental health experts say dramatically increases stress.
And in order to supply enough forces for the buildup, officials also
extended tour lengths to 15 months from 12, another factor that caused
extra emotional strain.
Officials have been encouraging troops to get help even if it means they
go to civilian therapists and don't report it to the military.
"We're trying very hard to encourage soldiers and families to seek care
and to not have them feel in any way, shape or form that we're looking
over their shoulder or that we're invading their privacy," Schoomaker
told a group of defense writers.
Noting that stigma is a problem in American civilian society, not just
the military, he said, "I think that's the preferred way to do it."
The accounting of diagnosed cases released Tuesday shows those hardest
hit last year were Marines and Army personnel, the two ground forces
bearing the brunt of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army reported more than 10,000 new cases last year, compared with
more than 6,800 new cases the previous year. More than 28,000 soldiers
altogether were diagnosed with the disorder over the last five years,
the data showed.
The Marine Corps had more than 2,100 new cases in 2007, compared with
1,366 in 2006. More than 5,000 Marines have been diagnosed with PTSD
since 2003, the data showed.
Navy officials who would have data on Marine health issues did not
return a phone call seeking to confirm the numbers released by
Schoomaker's office.
Schoomaker said he believes PTSD is widely misunderstood by the press
and the public — and that what is often just normal post-traumatic
anxiety and stress is mistaken for full-blown PTSD.
Experts say many troops have symptoms of stress, such as nightmares and
flashbacks, and can get better with early treatment.
The Pentagon had previously only given a percentage of troops believed
affected by depression, anxiety, stress and so on — saying up to 20%
return home with symptoms of mental health problems. A recent private
study estimated that could mean up to 300,000 of those who've served
have symptoms.
The Veterans Affairs Department said recently it has seen some 120,000
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have received at least a preliminary
mental health diagnosis, with PTSD being the most common diagnosis at
nearly 60,000.
An undisclosed number of troops also go to private care providers who
are part of the huge military health care system. Schoomaker noted that
National Guard and Reserve troops often go home to communities where
there is not a veterans facility nearby.
"We're working very hard with the VA and with the National Guard and
Reserves to get a better feel for, a grasp on, how big this is,"
Schoomaker said, adding that over time officials will be able to collect
data and get "a better feel for, handle on, the numbers."