Troops hit by depression and alcohol abuse
Updated on 30 October 2009
Nearly a third of British soldiers suffer from mental health problems after deployment, but only 5 per cent suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, according to new research. Rags Martel reports.
A study by the King's Centre for Military Health found that alcohol abuse and depression were far bigger problems.
The study by British psychiatrists found that more than 27 per cent of troops suffer post deployment mental health problems, but only around 5 per cent have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a debilitating illness that can be caused by wartime trauma.
There were was little difference in levels of PTSD symptoms between British and US troops deployed to Iraq.
Amy Iversen of the King's Centre for military health research at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, who led the study, said it showed the health needs of active troops and should be valuable for health planners and policy makers.
"Although our perception is that post traumatic stress disorder symptoms are the main source of psychiatric illness in service personnel, alcohol misuse and depressive disorders are actually much more common," she said.
The study, published in the journal BioMed Central Psychiatry, analysed 821 military personnel to see how many suffered mental illness and post traumatic stress.
Senior British military figures have accused the government of failing to provide enough care for soldiers suffering mental trauma after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, where around 170,000 British troops have been deployed since 2001.
Among British troops, the most common problems were alcohol abuse (18 per cent) and depression or anxiety (13.5 per cent). The researchers also said they found that reservists deployed to Iraq were at greater psychiatric risk than regular personnel.
