This is one of the main reasons I wrote my book PTSD: Pathways Through the Secret Door
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Multiple new efforts aimed at stemming suicides in the Army are falling short of their goal: The service anticipates another jump in the annual number of soldiers who killed themselves or tried to, including in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones.
As many as 121 soldiers committed suicide in 2007, an increase of some 20 percent over 2006, according to preliminary figures released Thursday.
The number who tried to commit suicide or injured themselves for some other reason jumped six-fold in the last several years - from 350 in 2002 to about 2,100 incidents last year. Officials said an unknown portion of that increase was likely due to use of a new electronic tracking system that is more thorough in capturing health data than the previous system.
The increases come despite a host of efforts to improve the mental health of a force that has been stressed by lengthy and repeated deployments to the longer-than-expected war in Iraq, and the most deadly year yet in the now six-year-old conflict in Afghanistan.
"We have been perturbed by the rise despite all of our efforts," said Col. Elspeth Ritchie, psychiatry consultant to the Army surgeon general.
Those efforts include more training and education programs, the hiring of more mental health professionals and the addition of screening programs launched after a succession of studies found the military's peacetime health care system overwhelmed by troops coming home from the two foreign wars.
"We know we've been doing a lot of training and education," Ritchie told a Pentagon press conference. "Clearly we need to be doing more."
The preliminary figures on 2007 show that among active duty soldiers and National Guard and Reserve troops that have been activated there were 89 confirmed suicides and 32 deaths that are suspected suicides but still under investigation.
Less than a third of those who committed suicide - about 34 - happened during deployments in Iraq. That compared with 27 in Iraq the previous year. Four were confirmed in Afghanistan compared with three there in 2006.
The total of 121, if all are confirmed, would be more than double the 52 reported in 2001, before the Sept. 11 attacks prompted the Bush administration to launch its counter-terror war. The toll was 87 by 2005 and 102 in 2006.
Officials said the rate of suicides per 100,000 active duty soldiers has not yet been calculated for 2007. The 2006 toll of 102 translated to a rate of 17.5 per 100,000, the highest since the Army started counting in 1980, officials said. The rate has fluctuated over those years, with the low being 9.1 per 100,000 in 2001.
That toll and rate for 2006 is a revision from figures released in August. Officials earlier had reported that 99 soldiers had killed themselves in 2006 and two cases were pending - as opposed to the 102 now all confirmed. It's common for investigations to take time and for officials to study results at length before releasing them publicly.
Ritchie said Thursday, as she did last year, that officials are finding that failed personal relationships are the main motive for the suicides, followed by legal and financial problems as well as job-related difficulties.
Long and repeated tours of duty away from home contribute significantly in that they weigh heavily on family relations and compound the other problems, officials said.
"People don't tend to suicide as a direct result of combat," Ritchie said. "But the frequent deployments strain relationships. And strained relations and divorce are definitely related to increased suicide."
With the Army stretched thin by years of fighting the two wars, the Pentagon last year extended normal tours of duty from 12 months to 15 months and has sent some troops back to the wars several times. The Army has been hoping to reduce tour lengths this summer. But the prospect could depend heavily on what Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, recommends when he gives his assessment of security in Iraq and troop needs to Congress in April.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a leading critic of the treatment given returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, called the new figures "heart-wrenching."
"Until they come to grips with how long and frequent deployments are straining soldiers and shattering lives we will continue to see this frightening trend," she said.
"And as the White House signals that there won't be any further troop cuts beyond July, there is dwindling hope that things will turn around soon," she said.
Because of improved security in Iraq in recent months, the administration has started to draw down extra troops sent last year. But Bush and commanders have been indicating reluctance to continue cuts beyond July out of fear the fragile security gains could be lost.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has elevated 3-fold among combat-exposed military personnel since 2001,
By: Rick Nauert, Ph.D. Senior News Editor
-->Reviewed by: John M। Grohol, Psy.D. on January 16, 2008
Wednesday, Jan. 16 (Psych Central) -- Self-reported post-traumatic stress disorder has elevated 3-fold among combat-exposed military personnel since 2001, according to a study reported in the British Medical Journal.
In response to concerns on the health impact of military deployment, researchers in San Diego analyzed the effect of deployment on over 50,000 military personnel who were taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study (a large 22-year study of the health of US military personnel).
Prior studies have estimated as many as 30 percent of Vietnam War veterans developed post-traumatic stress disorder at some point following the war and, among 1991 Gulf War veterans, as many as 10 percent were reported to have post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms years after returning from deployment.
Baseline data were obtained between July 2001 and June 2003 (before the wars in Iraq and Afganistan) and participants were surveyed about their health three years later (June 2004 to February 2006).
Combat exposure was assessed and new onset post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were measured using recognised criteria. Other information, such as cigarette smoking and problem alcohol drinking, was also recorded.
Over 40 percent of participants were deployed between 2001 and 2006; 24 percent deployed for the first time in support of the wars in Iraq and Afganistan between baseline and follow-up.
New onset post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms or diagnosis were reported by up to 87 per 1000 combat-deployed personnel and up to 21 per 1000 non-combat deployed personnel.
New onset symptoms were proportionately higher among participants who were female, divorced, enlisted, and in those who reported being a current smoker or problem drinker at baseline.
Persistent symptoms were found in 40-50 percent of participants who had post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms at baseline, suggesting that resolution of post-traumatic stress disorder may not be expected for several years.
These data show overall new incidence rates of 10 to 13 cases per 1000 person years and suggest a threefold increase in new onset self reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms or diagnosis among recently deployed military personnel with combat exposures, say the authors.
While the overall prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in the military is not high, a substantial number of new cases can be expected based on the number of service personnel deployed and exposed to combat in the wars in Iraq and Afganistan.
Identifying personnel with symptoms early may lead to a smaller burden of the disorder in the years to come if appropriate and timely treatments are provided. Meanwhile, future research should include efforts to better understand the resiliency and vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among combat deployers, they conclude.
Source: British Medical Journal
-->Reviewed by: John M। Grohol, Psy.D. on January 16, 2008
Wednesday, Jan. 16 (Psych Central) -- Self-reported post-traumatic stress disorder has elevated 3-fold among combat-exposed military personnel since 2001, according to a study reported in the British Medical Journal.
In response to concerns on the health impact of military deployment, researchers in San Diego analyzed the effect of deployment on over 50,000 military personnel who were taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study (a large 22-year study of the health of US military personnel).
Prior studies have estimated as many as 30 percent of Vietnam War veterans developed post-traumatic stress disorder at some point following the war and, among 1991 Gulf War veterans, as many as 10 percent were reported to have post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms years after returning from deployment.
Baseline data were obtained between July 2001 and June 2003 (before the wars in Iraq and Afganistan) and participants were surveyed about their health three years later (June 2004 to February 2006).
Combat exposure was assessed and new onset post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were measured using recognised criteria. Other information, such as cigarette smoking and problem alcohol drinking, was also recorded.
Over 40 percent of participants were deployed between 2001 and 2006; 24 percent deployed for the first time in support of the wars in Iraq and Afganistan between baseline and follow-up.
New onset post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms or diagnosis were reported by up to 87 per 1000 combat-deployed personnel and up to 21 per 1000 non-combat deployed personnel.
New onset symptoms were proportionately higher among participants who were female, divorced, enlisted, and in those who reported being a current smoker or problem drinker at baseline.
Persistent symptoms were found in 40-50 percent of participants who had post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms at baseline, suggesting that resolution of post-traumatic stress disorder may not be expected for several years.
These data show overall new incidence rates of 10 to 13 cases per 1000 person years and suggest a threefold increase in new onset self reported post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms or diagnosis among recently deployed military personnel with combat exposures, say the authors.
While the overall prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in the military is not high, a substantial number of new cases can be expected based on the number of service personnel deployed and exposed to combat in the wars in Iraq and Afganistan.
Identifying personnel with symptoms early may lead to a smaller burden of the disorder in the years to come if appropriate and timely treatments are provided. Meanwhile, future research should include efforts to better understand the resiliency and vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among combat deployers, they conclude.
Source: British Medical Journal
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