[Stop the Poisons] POST-WAR SUICIDES MAY EXCEED COMBAT DEATHS

[Guest guest]

At 02:04 PM 5/7/08, you wrote:

>Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says

>Posted by: " Fernwoods " Fernwoods fernwoods7

>Tue May 6, 2008 10:15 pm (PDT)

>Post-War Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths, U.S. Says

>

>By Avram Goldstein

>

>Bloomberg.com - May 05, 2008

>

>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124 & sid=a2_71Klo2vig & refer=home

>

>May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The number of suicides among

>veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the

>combat death toll because of inadequate mental health

>care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher

>said.

>

>Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial

>limits, haven't provided enough scientifically sound

>care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel,

>director of the National Institute of Mental Health in

>Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the

>American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in

>Washington.

>

>Insel echoed a Rand Corporation study published last

>month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S.

>soldiers have post- traumatic stress disorder or

>depression, and only half of them receive treatment.

>About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two

>wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560

>soldiers had died in the conflicts as of today, the

>Defense Department reported on its Web site.

>

>Based on those figures and established suicide rates

>for similar patients who commonly develop substance

>abuse and other complications of post-traumatic stress

>disorder, ``it's quite possible that the suicides and

>psychiatric mortality of this war could trump the

>combat deaths,'' Insel said.

>

>Post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD, is the

>failure to cope after a major shock, such as an auto

>accident, a rape or combat, Insel said. PTSD may remain

>dormant for months or years before it surfaces, and in

>about 10 percent of cases people never recover, he

>said.

>

>Difficult to Predict

>

>``We don't yet know how to predict who is going to be

>the person to be most concerned about,'' Insel said.

>

>The Pentagon didn't dispute Insel's remark.

>

>``The department takes the issue of suicide very

>seriously, and one suicide is too many,'' said

>spokeswoman Cynthia Smith in an e-mail.

>

>The department has expanded efforts to encourage

>soldiers and veterans not to feel stigmatized if they

>seek mental health treatment, Smith said.

>

>Soldiers who'd been exposed to combat trauma were the

>most likely to suffer from depression or PTSD, the Rand

>report said. About 53 percent of soldiers with those

>conditions sought treatment during the past year. Half

>of those who got care were judged by Rand researchers

>to have received inadequate treatment.

>

>Failure to adequately treat the mental and neurological

>problems of returning soldiers can cause a chain of

>negative events in the lives of affected veterans, the

>researchers said. About 300,000 soldiers suffer from

>depression or PTSD, the report said.

>

>Treatment Options

>

>Researchers aren't sure whether it's appropriate to

>treat such patients with selective serotonin reuptake

>inhibitors, a class of medications that include Prozac,

>and other anti- depressants, Insel said. His institute

>is examining that question and novel treatments for

>PTSD, including using so-called virtual reality

>technology.

>

>The psychiatric association reported last week that a

>survey of 191 military members and their spouses found

>32 percent said their duty hurt their mental health,

>and six in 10 believed seeking treatment would damage

>their careers.

>

>More than 15,000 psychiatrists are attending the

>professional group's meeting.

>

>To contact the reporter on this story: Avram Goldstein

>in Washington at agoldstein1.

 

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