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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Veteran stress cases increase

Gregg Zoroya USA Today

WASHINGTON – The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder from the Department of Veterans Affairs jumped by nearly 20,000 – almost 70 percent – in the 12 months ending June 30, records show.

More than 100,000 veterans – about one out of seven of those who have served and left active duty – have sought help for mental illness since late 2001, the start of the war in Afghanistan, according to VA records collected through the end of June. Almost half of those cases were for PTSD.

The numbers do not include thousands treated at storefront Vet Centers operated by the department across the country. Nor do they include active-duty personnel diagnosed with PTSD or former service members who have not sought treatment from the VA for their mental problems.

About 1.5 million U.S. troops have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, and 750,000 have since left the military eligible for VA health care.

The nearly 50,000 VA-documented PTSD cases far exceeds the official Pentagon tally for all wounded from those conflicts, which stands at 30,000.

The discrepancy underscores the view by military and civilian health officials that troops tend to ignore, hide or fail to recognize their mental health wounds until after their military service.

The overall number of mental health cases among war veterans grew by nearly 60 percent from 63,767 on June 30, 2006, to 100,580 on June 30, 2007, VA records show. The mental health issues include PTSD, drug and alcohol dependency and depression. They involve troops who left the military and sought health care from the Veterans Administration.