Abstract
The Marine Resiliency Study (MRS) is a prospective study of factors predictive of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among approximately 2,600 Marines in 4 battalions deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. We describe the MRS design and predeployment participant characteristics. Starting in 2008, our research team conducted structured clinical interviews on Marine bases and collected data 4 times: at predeployment and at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months postdeployment. Integrated with these data are medical and career histories from the Career History Archival Medical and Personnel System (CHAMPS) database. The CHAMPS database showed that 7.4% of the Marines enrolled in MRS had at least 1 mental health diagnosis. Of enrolled Marines, approximately half (51.3%) had prior deployments. We found a moderate positive relationship between deployment history and PTSD prevalence in these baseline data.
Highlights
Chronic psychiatric illness such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major public health problem among current and former military service members, especially those who have served in combat
We interviewed each subject in a sound-dampened private office at points 1 month before 7-month deployment (T1), 3 months postdeployment (T3), and 6 months postdeployment (T4), primarily to assess PTSD symptoms
Small but significant variations in rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) were found in loss of consciousness (LOC) and altered mental state (AMS) with deployment history; 54.1% of previously deployed Marines self-reported TBI with LOC and AMS compared with 60.4% of neverdeployed Marines
Summary
Chronic psychiatric illness such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major public health problem among current and former military service members, especially those who have served in combat. The prevalence of PTSD among service members and veterans varies widely, but deployment to a war zone is consistently associated with an increased risk for PTSD by a factor of 1.5 to 3.5 across war eras [1]. PTSD and mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) appear to be risk factors for suicidal behavior [6]. The number of veterans of the current conflicts seeking care at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities has increased [7]. Many of these veterans have met screening or diagnostic criteria for PTSD (20%–39%), often co-occurring with depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and chronic pain [7,8].
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