Iraq War Veterans

High rates of PTSD in Iraq War veterans are being seen, as well as a number of other difficulties, including alcohol and drug use, and depression. This may not be too surprising to read as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are in the news everyday, as are reports of their effect on the mental health of the men and women serving there. A majority of service members in Iraq and Afghanistan have encountered traumatic experiences and high rates of PTSD and other difficulties have been found. Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan definitely need to have mental health services available to them in order to help them adjust and cope with their experiences. In acknowledgment of this, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been …show more content…
A review of 29 studies that evaluated rates of PTSD in those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan found prevalence rates of adult men and women previously deployed ranging from 5% to 20% for those who do not seek treatment, and around 50% for those who do seek treatment. Vietnam veterans also report high lifetime rates of PTSD ranging from 10% to 31%. PTSD is the third most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis among veterans using the Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals.”PTSD and comorbid AUD", Subst Abuse Rehabil. 2014; 5: 25–36, Ralevski, et al. 50% of those with PTSD do not seek treatment. out of the half that seek treatment, only half of them get "minimally adequate" treatment (RAND study) 19% of veterans may have traumatic brain injury (TBI). Over 260,000 veterans from OIF and OEF so far have been diagnosed with TBI. Traumatic brain injury is much more common in the general population than previously thought: according to the CDC, over 1,700,000 Americans have a traumatic brain injury each year; in Canada 20% of teens had TBI resulting in hospital admission or that involved over 5 minutes of unconsciousness (VA surgeon reporting in BBC News). 7% of veterans have both post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. rates of