Abstract
Background: For a small minority, military service can have a negative impact on their mental health. Yet no studies have assessed how the mental health of UK veterans (who served during the recent operations in Afghanistan or Iraq) compares to non-veterans, to determine if they are at a disadvantage. We examine the prevalence of mental disorders and alcohol misuse in UK veterans compared to civilians. Methods: Veteran data was taken from the third phase of the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) cohort study (n=2,917). These data were compared with data on non-veterans taken from two large general population surveys: 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS, n=5,871) and wave 6 of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS, n=22,760). Findings: We found that, overall, UK veterans who served at the time of recent military operations were more likely to report significantly higher prevalence of CMD (23% vs 16%), PTSD (8% vs 5%) and alcohol misuse (11% vs 6%) than non-veterans. Stratifying by gender showed that the negative impact of being a veteran on mental health and alcohol misuse was restricted to male veterans. Being ill or disabled was associated with a higher prevalence of CMD and PTSD for both veterans and non-veterans. Interpretation: Whilst the same sociodemographic demographic groups within the veteran and non-veteran populations seemed to have an increased risk of mental health problems (e.g. those who were unemployed), male veterans in particular appear to be at a distinct disadvantage compared to those who have never served. Funding Statement: Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT16/0304K). Declaration of Interests: The authors state that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This study received ethical approval from the Proportionate Review Sub-committee of the West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee (REC reference:17/WM/0147, IRAS project ID: 224664).
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