Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Among U.S. Military Health Care Professionals Deployed in Support of Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
Abstract
We examined the longitudinal association between newly reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression among health care professionals following deployment in support of the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Longitudinal analyses were conducted using generalized estimating equations to estimate the odds of screening positive for PTSD or depression, adjusting for fixed and time-varying demographic, military, and behavioral covariates. A newly identified positive screen for PTSD or depression was assessed using the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version and the Patient Health Questionnaire, respectively. Of the 65,108 study participants, 9371 (14.4%) reported working as health care professionals for at least one assessment. The incidence rates of screening positive for PTSD or depression were similar for those in health care occupations (4.7% and 4.2%) compared with those in other occupations (4.6% and 3.9%) for the first and second follow-up, respectively. In the multivariate model, among military personnel deployed with combat experience, health care professionals did not have an increased risk for PTSD or depression over time. Among deployed health care professionals, combat exposure significantly increased the risk (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.01, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-3.83) and having two deployments was protective (AOR = 0.37, 95% CI, 0.17-0.83) for PTSD or depression.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA619407
Entities
People
- Besa Smith
- Cynthia A LeardMann
- Edward J. Boyko
- Isabel Gomez Jacobson
- Jaime L. Horton
- Margaret A.K. Ryan
- Timothy Steven Wells
- Tyler Clain Smith
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center