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STUDY: GUARD AND RESERVE TURN TO ALCOHOL AFTER
DEPLOYMENT -- National Guard and Reserve combat
troops
in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to
develop
drinking problems than active-duty soldiers.
We have two stories...first is the announcement
of the study...and second is a news story from the AP.
For more about veterans and alcohol, use the VA
Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=alcohol&op=and
First story here...
http://www.ne
wswise.com/articles/view/543322/
Story below:
-------------------------
Source: American
Medical Association (AMA)
Higher Risk of Alcohol-Related Problems for Reserve, National Guard
Personnel
Newswise — Younger service members and Reserve and National Guard combat
personnel returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are at increased
risk of new-onset heavy drinking, binge drinking and other alcohol-related
problems, according to a study in the August 13 issue of JAMA, a theme
issue on violence and human rights.
 Substance
abuse is strongly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and
other psychological disorders that may occur after stressful and traumatic
events, such as those connected with war. Because alcohol use may serve as
a coping mechanism after traumatic events, it is plausible that deployment
is associated with increased rates of alcohol consumption or problem
drinking, according to background information in the article. High rates
of alcohol misuse after deployment have been reported among personnel
returning from past conflicts, but there is little information regarding
alcohol misuse after return from the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Isabel G. Jacobson, M.P.H., of the Naval Health Research Center, San
Diego, and colleagues examined whether military deployment to the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan is associated with new-onset or changes in alcohol
consumption, binge drinking behavior and other alcohol-related problems.
Data were derived from questionnaires completed by participants at the
beginning (baseline) of the study (July 2001 to June 2003; n = 77,047) and
follow-up (June 2004 to February 2006; n = 55,021). After the researchers
applied exclusion criteria, the analyses included 48,481 participants
(active duty, n = 26,613; Reserve or National Guard, n = 21,868). Of
these, 5,510 deployed with combat exposures, 5,661 deployed without combat
exposures, and 37,310 did not deploy.
The researchers found that among Reserve or National Guard personnel who
deployed with combat exposures the rate of new-onset heavy weekly drinking
was 8.8 percent; the rate for new-onset binge drinking was 25.6 percent;
and for new-onset alcohol-related problems, 7.1 percent. Among active-duty
personnel, new-onset rates were 6.0 percent, 26.6 percent, and 4.8
percent, respectively. Among Reserve/Guard personnel, deployment with
combat exposures was associated with increased odds of new onset of all
three drinking outcomes compared with nondeployed personnel, with heavy
weekly drinking (63 percent) and alcohol-related problems (63 percent)
showing the strongest association.
Among active-duty personnel, those deployed with combat exposures were at
increased odds (31 percent) of new-onset binge drinking at follow-up.
Women were 1.2 times more likely to report new-onset heavy weekly
drinking, whereas they were significantly less likely to report new-onset
or changes in binge drinking or alcohol-related problems. Those born after
1980 were at 6.7 times increased odds of new-onset binge drinking and 4.7
times increased odds of new-onset alcohol-related problems. Those with
PTSD and depression were at increased odds of new-onset and continued
alcohol-related problems at follow-up.
“These results are the first to prospectively quantify changes in alcohol
use in relation to recent combat deployments. Interventions should focus
on at-risk groups, including Reserve/Guard personnel, younger individuals,
and those with previous or existing mental health disorders. Further
prospective analyses using … data [from this study group] will evaluate
timing, duration, and [co-existing illnesses] of alcohol misuse and
other-alcohol related problems, better defining the long-term effect of
military combat deployments on these important health outcomes,” the
authors conclude.
(JAMA. 2008;300[6]:663-675. Available pre-embargo to the media at
http://www.jamamedia.org )
-------------------------
Second story here...
http://ap.google.com/a
rticle/ALeqM5gqWpTU6nOSW3PZMSzvSW4g
ub_EjwD92GURFG0
Story below:
-------------------------
After combat, citizen soldiers turning to alcohol
By CARLA K. JOHNSON
CHICAGO (AP) — National Guard and Reserve combat troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan are more likely to develop drinking problems than active-duty
soldiers, a new military study suggests. The authors speculate that
inadequate preparation for the stress of combat and reduced access to
support services at home may be to blame.
The study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
Association, is the first to compare Iraq and Afghanistan veterans'
alcohol problems before and after deployment.
It should help guide planning for future prevention and treatment
programs, said study co-author Dr. Edward Boyko, who works for the
Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System.
The research is one of the first major studies to emerge from the
Pentagon's landmark "Millennium" study, launched in 2001 because of
concerns about possible health effects from the first Gulf War. It
includes tens of thousands of military personnel and is designed to
evaluate the long-term health effects of military service.
In the alcohol study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 80,000
military personnel, including more than 11,000 who were sent to Iraq and
Afghanistan. They looked at whether deployment and combat exposure were
linked with new alcohol problems such as binge drinking.
They found that more than 600 combat troops who reported no binge drinking
at the start of the study developed the problem after deployment and
combat exposure. That accounted for about 26 percent of the estimated
2,400 military personnel exposed to combat who did not report binge
drinking at the start of the study
New patterns of regular heavy drinking and alcohol problems, such as
missing work because of drinking, occurred more often in guard and reserve
troops who experienced combat. Their risk of developing new drinking
problems, compared to guardsmen and reservists who weren't deployed, was
about 60 percent higher.
Alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression make up an
"unholy trinity" that haunts some combat soldiers, said psychologist
William Schlenger of the consulting firm Abt Associates Inc. in Durham,
N.C. He was a principal investigator of the influential National Vietnam
Veterans' Readjustment Study, but was not involved in the new research.
"They have intrusive recollections: 'I keep remembering it, I have
nightmares about it, I can't escape it,'" Schlenger said. Vets try to
escape the memories through alcohol or drugs, he said.
The military has leaned heavily on the National Guard and reserves in the
current conflict. At certain times in 2005, the guard and reserves made up
nearly half the troops fighting in Iraq.
For citizen soldiers, returning from war differs from the return for
active-duty soldiers.
"It's not like you live at Fort Hood or Camp Lejeune and everybody on your
street is in the military," said Bob Handy, a Vietnam veteran who heads
Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Veterans United for Truth, a group that is
suing the VA to make changes in mental health care.
The Millennium study will continue to track veterans' health and may
determine whether drinking problems among returning combat troops are
long-lasting, Boyko said.
On the Net:
* JAMA:
http://jama.ama-assn.org
* Millennium Cohort Study:
http://www.millenniumcohort.org/
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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