Search

Limited prospective studies exist that evaluate the mental health status of military health care professionals who have deployed. This study used prospective data from the Millennium Cohort Study with longitudinal analysis techniques to examine whether health care professionals deployed in support of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely to screen positive for new-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression after deployment than individuals from other occupations. Of 65,108 subjects included, 9,371 (14.4%) reported working as health care professionals. The rates of new positive screens for PTSD or depression were similar for those in health care occupations (4.7% and 4.3%) compared with those in other occupations (4.6% and 3.9%) for the first and second follow-up, respectively. Among military personnel deployed with combat experience, health care professionals did not have increased odds for new-onset PTSD or depression over time. Among deployed health care professionals, combat experience significantly increased the odds: adjusted odds ratio = 2.01; 95% confidence interval [1.06, 3.83] for new-onset PTSD or depression. These results suggest that combat experience, not features specific to being a health care professional, was the key exposure explaining the development of these outcomes.

Limited prospective studies exist that evaluate the mental health status of military health care professionals who have deployed. This study used prospective data from the Millennium Cohort Study with longitudinal analysis techniques to examine whether health care professionals deployed in support of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely to screen positive for new-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression after deployment than individuals from other occupations. Of 65,108 subjects included, 9,371 (14.4%) reported working as health care professionals. The rates of new positive screens for PTSD or depression were similar for those in health care occupations (4.7% and 4.3%) compared with those in other occupations (4.6% and 3.9%) for the first and second follow-up, respectively. Among military personnel deployed with combat experience, health care professionals did not have increased odds for new-onset PTSD or depression over time. Among deployed health care professionals, combat experience significantly increased the odds: adjusted odds ratio = 2.01; 95% confidence interval [1.06, 3.83] for new-onset PTSD or depression. These results suggest that combat experience, not features specific to being a health care professional, was the key exposure explaining the development of these outcomes.

Background. After September 11, 2001, the United States entered into extended operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Individuals joining the military in the post-September 11 era committed to potential prolonged and repeated deployments. It has been hypothesized that those who entered military service in the pre-September 11 era might have expectations incongruent with their subsequent experiences, and this may increase their risk for mental disorders. Methods. A subset of Millennium Cohort members who joined the military during 1995-1999 were compared with a subset of Millennium Cohort members who joined the military in 2002 or later. Outcomes included new-onset posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, panic/anxiety disorders, and alcohol-related problems. Multivariable methods were adjusted for differences in demographic and military characteristics. Findings. Those who entered service in the pre-September 11 era had slightly lower odds of new-onset PTSD (odds ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.59-0.93) compared with the post-September 11 cohort. There were no statistically significant differences in rates of new-onset depression, panic/anxiety disorders, or alcohol-related problems between the groups. Interpretation. The cohort who entered military service in the pre-September 11 era did not experience higher rates of newonset mental disorders when compared with the cohort who entered service after September 11, 2001.