The Relationship between Somatic Symptoms, Anxiety, and Depression in Active-Duty Service Members: 2015 Health Related Behaviors Survey

Abstract

The overall prevalence of mental health continues to increase throughout the United States. Many patients who seek mental health services present with somatic symptoms. There is growing evidence suggesting that somatic symptoms are directly associated with anxiety and depression in adult patients, leading to increased health care utilization. A somatic symptom may be the first presentation of a mental health issue within the active-duty service member population. There are limited studies on the relationship between somatic symptoms and mental health within the military population. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between somatic symptoms, anxiety, and depression in the Department of Defense (DoD) active-duty military population. The central hypothesis for this study is that increases in somatic symptoms are directly associated with an increase in anxiety and depression symptoms in active-duty service members. This study is an original secondary data analysis on cross-sectional data collected from 16,699 participants from the DoD funded 2015 Health Related Behaviors Survey. The results of the unadjusted and adjusted multinomial logistic regression models supported the central hypothesis for this study, revealing that increases in somatic symptom burden increases the odds of higher anxiety and depression symptom severity. The results of this study provide unique military analysis supporting to the body of literature examining the relationship between somatic symptoms, anxiety, and depression. These results suggest that somatic symptoms can be a risk factor to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of active-duty service members suffering from mental health distress.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 09, 2023
Accession Number
AD1222317

Entities

People

  • Candace-eunice V. Bernard

Organizations

  • Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Medicine
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.