HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20020920/hl_nm/military_mental_dc Health - Reuters Mental Disorders Key Health Problems in Military Fri Sep 20, 1:37 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mental disorders such as depression and substance-abuse problems are among the most common health conditions in the US armed services, according to military researchers. Their study of all active-duty personnel during the 1990s also found that service men and women were much more likely to leave the service after treatment for a mental health condition, compared with a physical ailment. There is no reason to believe that mental health problems affect members of the military any more than the general US population, the researchers note. Rather, they report, the fact that conditions were so common in a generally young, healthy population highlights the "pervasive nature of mental disorders" in society. Dr. Charles W. Hoge of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland, and his colleagues report the findings in the September issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. Hoge's team looked at hospitalizations for all active military personnel between 1990 and 1999, as well as outpatient clinic visits in 1998 and 1999. They found that by 1995, mental disorders had become the second-leading reason for hospitalization and were the fifth-leading cause of outpatient clinic visits in 1998-1999. Of the more than 1.5 million hospitalizations for service men and women during the 1990s, 13% included a mental disorder diagnosis--which in most of these cases was the "primary" diagnosis. Alcohol- and drug-related disorders were the most frequent mental health problem, followed by mood disorders such as major and mild depression, and a group of conditions known as adjustment disorders. Adjustment disorders involve an inability to deal with stressful events that is severe enough to get in the way of work and life. Overall, the researchers found, mental health problems appeared much more likely than physical ills to affect service members' ability to stay on the job. For example, nearly half of soldiers hospitalized for a mental disorder in 1996 left the service within 6 months. That compares with 12% of those hospitalized for physical conditions. "Our analyzes confirm that mental disorders are a major public health problem and a leading cause of occupational dysfunction in this population," Hoge's team writes. According to the researchers, the findings raise questions about the impact of mental disorders on civilian job loss. They also stress that "these medical data do not suggest that the impact of mental disorders is greater among service members than in the general US population." Studying the military, Hoge's team notes, provides a "unique opportunity" because it is one of the healthiest US populations, is ethnically diverse and has equal access to healthcare. The fact that mental disorders have such an impact in the military, they conclude, provides new evidence that mental illness is "common, disabling, and costly to society." ------- SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry 2002;159:1576-1583. ____________________ http://www.yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
