Many Veterans Need Mental Health Care

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In addition, women had a higher risk for depression, but men had more than twice the risk for drug use problems, the researchers found.

Since the start of the Iraq war, mental health problems increased more than fourfold among active-duty personnel and sevenfold for members of the National Guard or Reserve, Seal said.

Age also played a role in the risk for PTSD, Seal said. While younger active-duty veterans had a higher risk for PTSD, "among Guard and Reserve members, those over 40 were at significantly higher risk for PTSD than their colleagues under 25," she said.

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Moreover, active-duty enlisted veterans in the Army rather than other service branches, or who had multiple tours of duty, thus more combat exposure, were at greater risk for PTSD, Seal said. This was not seen in National Guard and Reserve personnel, she noted.

Mark Kaplan, a professor of community health at the School of Community Health at Portland State University in Oregon, noted that the study only covers vets who have received care at the VA, but there are many more with serious mental health problems that are either seeking care privately or not at all, he said.

"This study adds to what we know about this population, however, that's the veterans who seek care at the VA system. But if you look at the total population of veterans from all wars, there are one-third of all veterans who have these problems," Kaplan said.

Doctors who are not connected with the VA but who see veterans need to ask them about any mental health issues they have, Kaplan said. "They need to be aware of the risks associated with veteran status, and in particular those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

Kaplan added that it is not uncommon for problems such as PTSD to arise years, even decades, after service. "We don't know the full emotional toll of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

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