Afghan War and Mental Health Problems

From the Monday, October 29, 2007, News section of the Toronto Star, page A2, is another article about the mental health toll on soldiers participating in the war in Afghanistan:

AFGHAN WAR TAKES ITS TOLL
Mental-health problems common after soldiers return to Canada

Alison Auld
The Canadian Press

Halifax - Hundreds of Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan are suffering from a range of mental-health problems linked to their deployment, according to new data.

But even with this latest information, the military admits it still has little understanding of how many troops might be affected by the rigours of war and operational stress over the long haul.

About 28 per cent of the 2,700 Canadian Forces soldiers who were screened after serving in the war-torn country were found to have symptoms of one or more mental-health problems, including depression, panic disorders and suicial tendencies.

Of those, 17 per cent exhibited signs of high-risk drinking, about 5 per cent showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and another 5 per cent had symptoms of major depression.

"It's significant, but it's commensurate with the difficult nature of the operation," Dr. Mark Zamorski, head of the military's deployment health section, said in an interview from Ottawa about the data he compiled in August. "It's concerning because we ask our members to put a lot on the line."

The military might also be capturing only a small number of troops suffering from mental-health problems because it lacks a comprehensive information system that both tracks soldiers' health over a long period of time and gathers data from all sources.

Soldiers are supposed to undergo screening sometime between 90 and 180 days after they return home from their deployment. But if they develop mental-health problems after that period, they won't be included in Zamorski's data.

An official with Veterans Affairs said that since the Afghan mission began five years ago, the number of clients receiving care for PTSD at the department's clinics has risen to 6,500 from 1,800. That figure could include vets from previous conflicts.