For assessments taken less than 24 months since exposure, the evidence on deployment effects on mental health is inconclusive¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? For assessments taken less than 24 months since exposure, evidence on deployment effects was inconclusive due to too few studies and/or large heterogeneity. → 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 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

The review's meta-analyses carried out by time since exposure found short- and medium-term results inconclusive; the review reports the evidence "was inconclusive either because too few studies reported results" or because heterogeneity was large. No pooled estimate is printed for this window.

"For assessments taken less than 24 months since exposure the evidence was inconclusive either because too few studies reported results in the short and medium term and/or the degree of heterogeneity between studies was large."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The effect of deployment on mental health outcomes does not differ by branch of service or duty/enlistment status — related
• 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 — related
• Pooled effect sizes for deployment on mental health are robust across components of methodological quality in sensitivity analyses — 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Effects of inclusion are heterogeneous and single-factor subgroup moderator analyses were inconclusive — related