TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2009//
TI  - Trauma exposure, branch of service, and physical injury in relation to mental health among U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
JO  - Military medicine
A1  - Baker, Dewleen G.
A1  - Heppner, Pia
A1  - Afari, Niloofar
A1  - Nunnink, Sarah
A1  - Kilmer, Michael
A1  - Simmons, Alan
A1  - Harder, Laura
A1  - Bosse, Brandon
SP  - 773
EP  - 778
VL  - 174
IS  - 8
N2  - Significant mental health symptoms are reported in troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (OEF/OIF). Symptomatic troops are more likely to be discharged and become eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) care. Prevalence and predictors of mental health symptoms were assessed in 339 OEF/OIF veterans and reservists registering at the San Diego DVA. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing combat exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom frequency and severity, depression, and substance and alcohol abuse. A minority of participants (36%) did not screen positive for mental health symptoms; the remainder met threshold for caseness of PTSD, depression, or substance and alcohol abuse. Using a hierarchical logistic regression model, gender, age, race, and rank were not significantly related to PTSD caseness, whereas most recent branch of service and report of injury during combat were. Follow-up analyses revealed that trauma history and combat exposure varied by branch of service. Knowledge of base rates and vulnerability factors can aid in rapid detection of "at risk" individuals.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0026-4075
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -