Deployment-Related Injury and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in US Military Personnel
Abstract
The current military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in the most US casualties since the Vietnam War. Previous research on the association between deployment-related injury and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has yielded mixed results. The objective of the present study was to examine the effect of battle injury (BI) relative to nonbattle injury (NBI) on the manifestation of PTSD symptoms in military personnel and to assess the demographic, injury-specific, and pre-injury factors associated with PTSD following a BI. A total of 3,403 people with deployment-related injury (1,777 BI and 1,626 NBI) were identified from the Expeditionary Medical Encounter Database. Records were electronically matched to Post-Deployment Health Assessment (PDHA) data completed 1 6 months post-injury. The PTSD screening outcome was identified using a four-item screening tool on the PDHA. Compared to those with NBI, personnel with BI had more severe injuries, reported higher levels of combat exposure, and had higher rates of positive PTSD screen. After adjusting for covariates, personnel with BI were twice as likely to screen positive for PTSD compared to those with NBI (odds ratio [OR], 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.60 2.75). In multivariate analysis among battle-injured personnel only, moderate and severe injury (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.12 2.00 and OR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.01 2.68, respectively), previous mental health diagnosis within 1 year of deployment (OR, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.50 4.81), and previous BI (OR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.22 3.16) predicted a positive PTSD screen. Military personnel with battle injury have increased odds of positive PTSD screen following combat deployment. Post-deployment health questionnaires may benefit from questions that specifically address whether service members experienced an injury during combat.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA615858
Entities
People
- Ambert L. Dougherty
- Andrew J. MacGregor
- Janet J. Tang
- Michael R. Galarneau
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center