Abstract
Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can manifest several years after trauma exposure, and may impact everyday life even longer. Military deployment can put soldiers at increased risk for developing PTSD symptoms. Longitudinal evaluations of PTSD symptoms in deployed military personnel are essential for mapping the long-term psychological burden of recent operations on our service members, and may improve current practice in veterans' mental health care. The current study examined PTSD symptoms and associated risk factors in a cohort of Dutch Afghanistan veterans 10years after homecoming. Participants (N=963) were assessed seven times from predeployment up to 10years after deployment. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify distinct trajectories of PTSD symptom development. The probable PTSD prevalence at 10years after deployment was 8%. Previously identified risk factors like younger age, lower rank, more deployment stressors, and less social support were still relevant 10years after deployment. Four trajectories of PTSD symptom development were identified: resilient (85%), improved (6%), severely elevated-recovering (2%), and delayed onset (7%). Only the delayed onset group reported increasing symptom levels between 5 and 10years postdeployment, even though 77% reported seeking help. This study provides insights into the long-term burden of deployment on the psychological health of military service members. It identifies a group of veterans with further increasing PTSD symptoms that does not seem to improve from currently available mental health support, and underlines the urgent need for developing and implementing alternative treatment opportunities for this group.
Highlights
With over 25,000 troops deployed during 2005–2011, the Dutch participation in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan was the first time the Dutch armed forces conducted a military mission of this size and complexity
Studies in U.S National Guard soldiers [4] and in U.K. [5] and Dutch [6] armed forces deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan suggest a trend of stabilizing or aggravating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence rates in service members deployed in recent military missions, and underline the importance of longterm monitoring of the mental health of deployed personnel
We report on findings from the 10-year follow-up measurement in the PRISMO cohort, a large cohort of Dutch military personnel deployed to Afghanistan [12]
Summary
With over 25,000 troops deployed during 2005–2011, the Dutch participation in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan was the first time the Dutch armed forces conducted a military mission of this size and complexity. Longitudinal, longterm evaluations of PTSD symptoms in this recently deployed group of military personnel are essential for mapping the psychological burden of recent operations on our service members, which may improve current practice in veterans’ mental healthcare and inform policymaking in future missions. Longitudinal evaluations of PTSD symptoms in deployed military personnel are essential for mapping the long-term psychological burden of recent operations on our service members, and may improve current practice in veterans’ mental health care. This study provides insights into the long-term burden of deployment on the psychological health of military service members It identifies a group of veterans with further increasing PTSD symptoms that does not seem to improve from currently available mental health support, and underlines the urgent need for developing and implementing alternative treatment opportunities for this group
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
