Key indicators for mental disorders in officers of the Armed Forces of Russia (2003–2015)

Abstract

Relevance. There have been made some reorganizations in the Armed Forces of Russia lately (changes in the staff structure, enhancing the image of the officers, increasing officer’s salaries and military pension), which could affected the mental health of military personnel. Intention. The aim of our study was to determine the medical-statistical characteristics of mental health in officers of the Armed Forces of Russia as the most combat-capable unit. Methods. The research presents the stastical analysis of mental disorders in officers of the Armed Forces of Russia during the last 13 years (2003–2015). Results and Discussion. The annual average general morbidity (negotiability) of officers with mental disorders was (8.21 ± 0.86) ‰, the primary morbidity rate – (2.73 ± 0.13) ‰, the dynamic level of dispensary observation – (1.29 ± 0.14) ‰, the hospitalization rate – (2.37 ± 0.12) ‰, the inactivity rate measured in days – (51 ± 3) ‰, the dismissal rate – (0.55 ± 0.06) ‰, the mortality ratio – (0.4 ± 0.2) deaths per 100,000 officers in a year. The polynomial trends at low coefficients of determination of almost all indicators predicted their decrease. With a small contribution of mental disorders (1–6 %) to the structure of general morbidity, hospitalization and inactivity, the dismissal rate of officers with mental disorders remained at a high level and ranks 6th among all diseases. In 97.3 % of cases the structure of the generated complex indicator of the mental health status in officers was determined by 6 groups of disorders from Chapter V of ICD-10: mental disorders due to known physiological conditions (F00–F09), mental and behavioral disorders due to psychoactive substance use (F10–F19), schizophrenia, schizotypal, delusional and other non-mood psychotic disorders (F20–F29), mood (affective) disorders (F30– F39), anxiety, dissociative, stress-related and somatoform disorders (F40–F48). The major contribution to the structure of mental pathology is made by the neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders, as well as addiction disorders. In addition it is the chemical forms of addiction and neurotic disorders that often lead to the dismissal of officers from the Armed Forces of Russia. It is shown, that some isolated socio-economic factors have influence on the mental health of officers. It is determined, that the «unpopular» reforms carried out until 2011 had negative influence, on the other hand, there is the reduction of the prevalence rate of mental disorders among the officers since the reforms of 2012. Conclusions. It is assumed, that the system of the psychoprophylactic measures existing at present needs to be further improved and primarily focused on the early diagnosis of the addiction and neurotic disorders.