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Combat Duty Harms Long-Term Health of Vets
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Non-combat veterans also fared better than those who had seen combat. Veterans who served in conflicts were 31 percent more likely than non-combat veterans to report poor or fair health, even after the data was adjusted.
Non-combat veterans were also in better shape as far as functional status. Combat veterans and non-veterans were 75 percent more likely than non-combat veterans to have difficulty doing heavy work around the house, walking up and down stairs unassisted or to walk a half mile unassisted, according to the study.
"This is obviously concerning," said Dr. Joel Young, a psychiatrist at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. "It appears that such a stressful life experience will have enduring consequences. Those who endured, those who witnessed hostility, seem to have compromised function later in life."
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Although the study wasn't designed to assess the reason for these differences, Young said that people who are subjected to trauma can imprint those experiences and replay them, even years later, causing the same type of stress reaction, which causes the body to go into a hyperarousal state. And, he said, current research suggests that along with causing bursts of the stress hormone cortisol, such stress reactions may even cause actual degeneration in parts of the brain.
Whatever the mechanism behind these findings, Young said, "There's good evidence to suggest that people should get early help and intervention. Right now, the VA is very sensitive to the psychological consequences of combat, and the commitment to following up on the mental health needs of those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seems to be more than it's ever been."
More information
Learn more about the physical effects of stress from HelpGuide.org.
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Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 4/24/2009
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SOURCES: Anna Johnson, Ph.D., epidemiology researcher, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Joel Young, M.D., psychiatrist, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich.; April 24, 2009, presentation, American Heart Association's 10th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, Washington, D.C.
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