A Longitudinal Comparison of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Among Military Service Components

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to longitudinally investigate PTSD and depression between Reserve, National Guard, and active duty continuously and dichotomously. The study consisted of Millennium Cohort Study participants and used self-reported symptoms. Repeated measures modeling assessed PTSD and depression continuously and dichotomously over time. A subanalysis among only recently deployed personnel was conducted. Of the 52,653 participants for the PTSD analysis, the adjusted PCL-C means were 34.6 for Reservists, 34.4 for National Guardsmen, and 34.7 for active duty members, respectively. Of the 53,073 participants for depression analysis, the adjusted PHQ-9 means were 6.8, 6.7, and 7.2, respectively. In dichotomous models, Reservists and National Guardsmen did not have a higher risk of PTSD or depression compared with active duty members. Among deployers, Reservists and National Guardsmen had higher odds (odds ratio = 1.16, 95% confidence limit [CL] [1.01, 1.34] and OR = 1.19, 95% CL [1.04, 1.36], respectively) of screening positive for PTSD, but not depression. Although Reserve and National Guard deployers had modestly increased odds of PTSD compared with active duty members, overall there were minimal differences in the risk and symptom scores of PTSD and depression between service components.