Commentary on “Coping with life-threatening events was associated with better self-perceived health in a naval cross-sectional study,” by Nils Magerøy, Trond Riise, Bjørn H. Johnsen, and Bente E. Moen

Abstract

For most people, especially those who work in the military or emergency services, the experiencing, or even witnessing, of threatening events is an unfortunate part of life. There is clear evidence that such experiences can have major and long-lasting effects on physical and psychological health, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression [1]. For example, a recent study found high levels of psychological ill-health more than 50 years after deployment to the Korean War [2]. When exposed to lifethreatening events, what is the best coping strategy to adopt? Should we try and ‘move on’ and ‘put it behind us’, or is this just a form of denial? In their paper addressing these issues, Mageroy et al. used a questionnaire to explore relationships between exposure to life-threatening events and self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL), in 1644 military personnel and 602 civilian employees of the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN). The RNoN military personnel worked both on ships and on shore, whereas the civilians worked only on shore. Both groups were operating mainly under peaceful, noncombat circumstances, Norway not having been at war since 1945. However, a small percentage (5.7%) of the respondents had served in the Balkans or the Gulf region, on UN or NATO peacekeeping missions.