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Military Veterans Returning Home With Post Tramautic Stress Disorder

Introduction

Soldiers returning home from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars who are newly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are affected by their medical conditions more than previously thought, according to a new study. Many returning soldiers and veterans living in rural areas fail to get the help they need because of barriers to health care. (Emily:144-165) The primary barrier facing this population is the geographic distance from the nearest Veterans Administration (VA) health facility. In other cases, some returning soldiers and veterans do not qualify for some or any VA benefits, or they are unaware of the benefits, services, and facilities available to them. Therefore, numerous cases of chronic and acute mental and physical conditions remain untreated.

Many returning soldiers and veterans also face poverty, substance abuse, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in addition to numerous physical impairments. VA health facilities address these issues by developing partnerships with area community health clinics and hospitals to deliver care via telemedicine, mobile VA clinics and community-based outpatient clinics. More and more, the VA also depends on non-profit, veteran service organizations to help care for the growing population of returning soldiers and veterans in need of health care. (Lucille:38-44)

Female veterans affected

Military veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq with troubled mental health may also suffer the burden of more medical illnesses, according to a sweeping study. Female veterans in particular seem hard hit by the one-two combination of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and additional medical conditions, such as headaches and lower-back disorders.

The most hard-hit veterans represented a relatively small group out of the 90,000 men and women who used the U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) services. The study compared veterans with and without PTSD who had just returned from military service in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. (Miliken: 45-61)

Study researcher Susan Frayne, a physician with VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University, cautioned that the researchers could only point to an association between the PTSD and additional medical illnesses. Only future studies may answer whether PTSD somehow directly contributes to the additional conditions.

The study found 3,501 female veterans with PTSD out of 12,831 total returning from Afghanistan and Iraq (and who accessed VHA services), along with 27,083 male veterans with PTSD out of 77,727 total returning home. Such figures do not include veterans with other stress-related disorders or other mental health conditions. Overall, the study found 222 types of medical conditions in veterans. Of the female veterans, 32 percent of the PTSD sufferers had “high numbers of medical conditions,” or 10 or more diagnosed ailments, as opposed to just 11 percent of those with no mental health conditions. About 20 percent of the male veterans with PTSD had high numbers of medical conditions, compared with 7 percent among those who had no mental health conditions. (Scott: 29-51)

Returing from Iraq

Estimates of the rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans returning from Iraq range from 12% to 20%. ...