Effect of dwell time on the mental health of US military personnel with multiple combat tours.

Autor: MacGregor AJ; Department of Medical Modeling, Simulation, and Mission Support, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92106, USA. andrew.macgregor@med.navy.mil, Han PP, Dougherty AL, Galarneau MR
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: American journal of public health [Am J Public Health] 2012 Mar; Vol. 102 Suppl 1, pp. S55-9.
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300341
Abstrakt: Objective: We investigated the association of the length of time spent at home between deployments, or dwell time, with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health disorders.
Methods: We included US Marine Corps personnel identified from military deployment records who deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom once (n = 49,328) or twice (n = 16,376). New-onset mental health diagnoses from military medical databases were included. We calculated the ratio of dwell-to-deployment time (DDR) as the length of time between deployments divided by the length of the first deployment.
Results: Marines with 2 deployments had higher rates of PTSD than did those with 1 deployment (2.1% versus 1.2%; P < .001). A DDR representing longer dwell times at home relative to first deployment length was associated with reduced odds of PTSD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.32, 0.70), PTSD with other mental health disorder (OR = 0.56; 95% CI = 0.33, 0.94), and other mental health disorders (OR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.51, 0.75).
Conclusions: Longer dwell times may reduce postdeployment risk of PTSD and other mental health disorders. Future research should focus on the role of dwell time in adverse health outcomes.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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