Britain's Armed Forces Suffer Mentally After Long Periods Of Deployment

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Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Men's health
Article Date: 04 Aug 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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Current long periods of deployment are closely linked with a significantly higher risk of mental health problems among members of Britain's armed forces, according to an article in this week's British Medical Journal (BMJ). Even though deployment comes with the job, research indicates that increases in the pace of military operations, known as 'operation tempo', places a strain on families and has an impact on mental health.

The British armed forces have 'harmony guidelines' which are aimed at balancing rest and recuperation with deployment. Whenever there are simultaneous operations, such as the current ones in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the guidelines help for monitoring overstretch as a measure of over-commitment.

Prof. Roberto Rona, King's College London, and team, wanted to find out whether deployment above these guidelines had an impact on mental health. The guidelines recommend a maximum of 13 months' deployment during a three year period.

They examined the duration of deployments of a random sample of 5,547 regular military personnel, over a three-year period. Recognized scoring methods were used to assess mental health and alcohol consumption. Other outcomes included intentions to stay in the military and problems at home during and after deployment.

Such elements as age, gender, rank, marital status, and years of service were factored in and adjusted. Adjustments were also made for role in theatre, whether or not it was a war or peace deployment, and how long was spent in a forward area in close contact with the enemy.

The study found that personnel who were deployed for 13 months or more over a three year period had a much higher risk of experiencing symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at home during and after deployment. This was especially so for those whose exposure included direct combat. They also found a correlation between the prevalence of alcohol problems and the longer duration deployment. They did not find any link between duration of employment and a soldier's desire to stay or leave the military.

The researchers say they found no association between the number of deployments and problems at home. They added that the link between the number of deployments and psychological symptoms was much less consistent. The big factor seems to be total length of deployments in a three year period, rather than how many there were.

If the most recent deployment was longer than expected, more soldiers were likely to experience PSTD - the link here was described as moderately strong. This is in line with US studies that found increased levels of psychological distress among soldiers who were not sure when they would return home.

The authors concluded that going over the recommended limit does have consequences for a soldier's mental health, especially those involved in direct combat. In order to help reduce the risk of PSTD, they say that a clear and explicit policy on the duration of each deployment is necessary.

Mental health consequences of overstretch in the UK armed forces: first phase of a cohort study
Roberto J Rona, Nicola T Fear, Lisa Hull, Neil Greenberg, Mark Earnshaw, Matthew Hotopf, Simon Wessely
BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.39274.585752.BE (published 30 July 2007)
Click here to view abstract online

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
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