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Over 120 UK war veterans suffering traumatic stress

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Nov 16, IRNA -- Over 120 British veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been initially assessed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between 2007 and 2009, according to Defence Personnel Minister Andrew Robathan.

Robathan listed official figures showing that a total of 128 veterans from the two wars were assessed with PTSD when attending as patients at the Ministry of Defence’s Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH).

The figures, which included troops deployed in both theatres, were only new attendances during the three year period as well as new episodes of care since July 2009.

“Equivalent verified data prior to 2007 is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost,” Robathan said in a written parliamentary reply published Tuesday.

An MoD-funded study published in May reported that the mental health of the UK armed forces deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan has not deteriorated since 2003 when it was first assessed, despite the lengths and exposure to combat of both the wars.

The overall prevalence of PTSD was said to have remained at only 4% although alcohol abuse was identified in 13% of UK armed forces surveyed and common mental disorders in 19.7%.

In contrast, a survey of American veterans of the two wars compiled for the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program in the US in September, found 13% claiming to be suffering from PTSD.

As many was 66% of US veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan wars reported suffering from some form of depression, second only to Vietnam veterans. Ten per cent cited a high level of depression.

A 2008 report by the RAND Corporation suggested that nearly a third of American service members returning from the two wars are affected by PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury or major depression.

PTSD is commonly associated with severe anxiety and diagnostic symptoms include re-experiencing original traumas through flashbacks or nightmares, sleeping difficulty, anger, and hypervigilance.