HELPING SOLDIERS COPE WITH COMBAT STRESS
17 September 2004 - Duke University

The first study of mental-health problems among U.S. troops returning from Iraq finds one of every eight soldiers reporting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. A VA psychiatrist says the military is providing more resources than ever to help troops cope with the psychological after-effects of war.

Living with the horrors of combat has never been easy, and U.S. troops fighting in Iraq are no exception. The first mental-health study of combat units returning from Iraq was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Harold Kudler, a psychiatrist at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham, North Carolina VA Hospital, says the rates of post-traumatic stress disorder are consistent with earlier wars. “There was a 30 percent lifetime incidence of PTSD in Vietnam veterans. The fact is, this 17 percent we’re getting for Iraq in the heaviest combat, up to 20 percent in very heavy combat, is right in line with that.” Kudler says PTSD symptoms can include difficulty sleeping, nightmares, concentration problems and flashbacks. He says more counseling help and other services are available to troops and veterans than ever before. “I’m afraid there still is a stigma about seeking this kind of help, but I’m very impressed with what military medicine is trying to do. And I think this Hoge study that came out in the New England Journal is a major step in the right direction.” I’m Cabell Smith for MedMinute.

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