TROOPS FLOODING INTO HOSPITALS FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE

Mental health leading cause of military hospital stays
TROOPS FLOODING INTO HOSPITALS FOR MENTAL HEALTH CARE

Mental disorders were the leading cause of hospitalizations and the second leading cause of medical visits for active duty troops in 2012, according to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center. A look at how mental health conditions affected active duty troops last year
USA Today
Gregg Zoroya and Meghan Hoyer
September 25, 2013

Through 2012, mental illness in the military took up more days for hospitalization than any other mental or physical problems, including war wounds, accidents, illness or pregnancies.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other mental illnesses accounted for more days spent by troops in the hospital than any other medical condition in the military in 2012, including war wounds, injuries and illness, according to Pentagon data.

The numbers show how years of exposure to combat trauma created a core of servicemembers with severe mental health problems — about 20,000 last year — who accounted for more lost workdays than those with any other health issue.

In the worst cases, troops remained hospitalized more than a month. Only servicemembers with severe amputations and long rehabilitation stay longer, according to Pentagon data provided in response to USA TODAY queries.

One ray of hope: New Army data show the mental health hospitalization trend that began rising during the depths of two wars in 2006 finally may be reversing.
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