More than 24 months after exposure, deployed personnel have higher odds of screening positive for PTSD, depression, substance use and common mental disorder than non-deployed personnel¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2023: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 For assessments taken more than 24 months post exposure, deployed participants had higher odds of screening positive for PTSD than non-deployed participants (OR=3.31). → Bøg M 2018 q3 i2 For assessments taken more than 24 months post exposure, deployed participants had higher odds of screening positive for depression than non-deployed participants (OR=2.19). → Bøg M 2018 q3 i1 For assessments taken more than 24 months post exposure, deployed participants had higher odds of screening positive for substance use than non-deployed participants (OR=1.27). → Bøg M 2018 q3 i1 For assessments taken more than 24 months post exposure, deployed participants had higher odds of screening positive for common mental disorder than non-deployed participants (OR=1.64). → Bøg M 2018

Evidence¶

Bøg M 2018¶

Bøg M, Filges T, & Jørgensen A.M.K. (2018). Deployment of personnel to military operations: impact on mental health and social functioning. Campbell Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2018.6

q3 · i3 · quant-synthesis · r3

The review's own random-effects meta-analysis of observational studies pooled odds ratios comparing deployed with non-deployed personnel for long-term assessments. It reports "the odds of screening positive for PTSD, depression, substance use and common mental disorder were higher for participants in the deployed group", with the four printed ORs; per-outcome i values reflect the differing printed ORs.

"For assessments taken more than 24 months post exposure, meta‐analyses indicated that the odds of screening positive for PTSD, depression, substance use and common mental disorder were higher for participants in the deployed group compared to participants in the group that were not deployed (PTSD OR=3.31 (95% CI: 2.69 to 4.07), OR=2.19 (95% CI: 1.58 to 3.03) for depression, OR=1.27 (95% CI: 1.15 to 1.39) for substance use, and OR=1.64 (95% CI: 1.38 to 1.96) for common mental disorder)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The effect of deployment on mental health outcomes does not differ by branch of service or duty/enlistment status — related
• In long-term assessments, personnel reporting high combat exposure have higher odds of screening positive for PTSD and depression than personnel reporting lower exposure — related
• At other (variable) time points since exposure, deployed personnel show significantly higher odds of PTSD and depression than non-deployed personnel, while the common mental disorder analysis is inconclusive — related
• Long-term prevalence of post-deployment mental health problems is expected to exceed pre-deployed/non-deployed baseline ranges across all four outcome domains — related
• At other (variable) time points since exposure, deployed personnel do not have higher odds of screening positive for substance use than non-deployed personnel — related
• For assessments taken less than 24 months since exposure, the evidence on deployment effects on mental health is inconclusive — related
• Pooled effect sizes for deployment on mental health are robust across components of methodological quality in sensitivity analyses — related