Predictors of psychiatric disorders in combat veterans

BMC Psychiatry

Lauretta A Ziajko¹  Cedric F Garland²  Gerald E Larson³  Robyn M Highfill-McRoy³  Emily A Schmied³  Stephanie Booth-Kewley³ 

[1] Naval Medical Center, San Diego, 34800 Bob Wilson Dr, San Diego, CA 92134, USA;Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Moores UCSD Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093-0631, USA;Behavioral Science and Epidemiology Department, Naval Health Research Center, 140 Sylvester Road, San Diego, CA 92106-3521, USA

关键词: Combat;    Veterans;    Iraq/Afghanistan wars;    Marines;    Military populations;    Psychiatric disorders;   

Others  :  1124063
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-13-130

 received in 2012-12-05, accepted in 2013-04-30,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Most previous research that has examined mental health among Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) combatants has relied on self-report measures to assess mental health outcomes; few studies have examined predictors of actual mental health diagnoses. The objective of this longitudinal investigation was to identify predictors of psychiatric disorders among Marines who deployed to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Methods

The study sample consisted of 1113 Marines who had deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Demographic and psychosocial predictor variables from a survey that all Marines in the sample had completed were studied in relation to subsequent psychiatric diagnoses. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine the influence of the predictors on the occurrence of psychiatric disorders.

Results

In a sample of Marines with no previous psychiatric disorder diagnoses, 18% were diagnosed with a new-onset psychiatric disorder. Adjusting for other variables, the strongest predictors of overall psychiatric disorders were female gender, mild traumatic brain injury symptoms, and satisfaction with leadership. Service members who expressed greater satisfaction with leadership were about half as likely to develop a mental disorder as those who were not satisfied. Unique predictors of specific types of mental disorders were also identified.

Conclusions

Overall, the study’s most relevant result was that two potentially modifiable factors, low satisfaction with leadership and low organizational commitment, predicted mental disorder diagnoses in a military sample. Additional research should aim to clarify the nature and impact of these factors on combatant mental health.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Booth-Kewley et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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