A study comparing mental health for civilians and veterans from the UK has found that men who have served in the armed forces normally have a higher probability of developing mental illnesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study, developed by the University of Liverpool and King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, was recently published in Psychological Medicine. It notes prevalent issues include PTSD and alcohol abuse. Women who have served in the military were also noted to have a higher tendency for hazardous drinking as opposed to civilian women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Serving in the military is no walk in the park, and some soldiers return with serious mental health issues. The study has tried to address the dearth of information on what mental health looks like for someone who has served in the armed forces, as opposed to someone who never went to war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The data looked at 2,917 veterans in terms of PTSD, CMD and alcohol misuse. The subjects were veterans who had served in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. This dataset was then put against a similar pool of non-veterans, collected in 2014 through general population surveys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Veterans have a 23% higher prevalence of CMD, as opposed to only 16% for non-veterans. PTSD stood at 8% for veterans, and 5% otherwise. Finally, alcohol abuse was 11% for former soldiers and almost half, i.e. 6%, for non-veterans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talking about the study, the lead author, Dr Laura Goodwin said: “Despite the majority adapting well to civilian life there appears to be a higher prevalence of mental health problems in male veterans compared to males in the general population and therefore an increased need for mental health support.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Deirdre MacManus, King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, said: “An obvious difference between those who have served in the UK military and those employed in other occupations is the experience of operational deployment. Interestingly, whilst our work suggests that deployment may partly explain the increased level of PTSD in veterans, it did not explain the increased prevalence of CMD or alcohol misuse.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professor Nicola Fear, King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London, said: “This work has shown that both male and female veterans are drinking more than individuals of a similar age from the general population. It is crucial that there is better awareness within the UK Armed Forces of when alcohol use becomes problematic and that appropriate support is available for those who need it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n