Mental health issues rising among vets

A couple of things to remember here. First the DOD and the VA have different numbers. The other is that this report points out two issues for the increase. One is the stigma is less than it was and the other is that many times PTSD can present a long time after the events causing it. The answer is, both.

The article also point this out and it's what has been repeated here over and over and over again,,,,,,,

The authors recommended targeted screening and early intervention to prevent chronic mental health problems.

Mental health issues rising among vets

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 22, 2009 16:26:06 EDT

A new study shows that 106,726 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans within the Veterans Affairs Department health care system have been diagnosed with mental health issues.

That’s 37 percent of the 289,328 veterans who have sought care. Of those, 62,979 — or 22 percent — have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

About 1.6 million troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The study notes that those numbers are far higher than a military study showing that only 12 percent of active-duty combat veterans received mental health diagnoses from the Military Health System.

That may be because PTSD can show up years after a person experiences a traumatic event.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/07/military_mentalhealth_072209w/