Effects of OEF/OIF deployment intensity on PTSD diagnoses among still active population: analysis of enlisted and officer populations 2001-2006

Abstract

This study estimates the effect of deployment location and length on the risk of being diagnosed with PTSD, relative to what it would be from the normal military operations; and examines the comorbidity distribution within the PTSD population. We use a random sample of active-duty personnel serving between 2001 and 2006. We identify PTSD cases from TRICARE medical records and link deployment information from Contingent Tracking System. We estimate logistic regressions to assess the effect of deployment intensity on the rate of PTSD. Among the enlisted population, comparing to those in other duties around the world, deployment to Iraq/Afghanistan increases the odds of developing PTSD substantially, with the largest effect observed for the Navy (OR=9.06, p<0.01) and the smallest effect for the Air Force (OR=1.25, p<0.01). A deployment longer than 180 days increases the odds of PTSD by 1.11 times to 2.84 times, depending on the service, compared to a tour under 120 days. For the Army and the Navy, a deployment to Iraq/Afghanistan further exacerbates the adverse effect of tour length. We observe similar adverse effects among the officers although the magnitude of the deployment effect is smaller.