Screening lowers number of mental health issues among deployed soldiers

Screening lowers number of mental health issues among deployed soldiers

Mental health screening for soldiers about to be deployed to Iraq cut the overall incidence of psychiatric issues such as suicidal thoughts, combat stress, or mental health breakdowns by 78 percent, a new study shows.

The report, published online Tuesday in the American Journal of Psychiatry, also said the screening halved the rate for suicidal thoughts and attempts.

The U.S. Army is looking at the findings of the study to better handle an increasing number of mental health cases ranging from depression, suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder among troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army Major Christopher Warner led a team of researchers that examined six brigades of 20,000 soldiers before their deployment to Iraq. Three brigades were administered mental health screening while the other three did not undergo screening. The researchers monitored them for the first six months of combat duty .

During pre-deployment screening, soldiers were asked to fill out a form to assess their mental health status. Those who showed signs of abnormal mental conditions such as bipolar disorder were not deployed.

The report shows that those who underwent screening were less likely to be evacuated from the field due to mental health issues.

"It's vitally important to know whether mental health screening works, for both military functioning and the welfare of individual soldiers, and this is the first time the program's been assessed systematically," Warner said in a news release through the American Psychiatric Association.

The study about the benefits of mental health screening among U.S. troops were undertaken by the Army Medical Command.

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday January 19 2011, 10:37 PM EDT. Ref: Business Week. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0