Wives of deployed soldiers more likely to be depressed
January 17th, 2010 - 3:58 pm ICT by ANILondon, Jan 17 (ANI): A new study has revealed that wives of soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health conditions than women whose husbands are not deployed.
The study, by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, examined medical records of the wives of active duty U.S. Army personnel, comparing those whose husbands were serving abroad with those whose husbands were not deployed.
“This study confirms what many people have long suspected,” said Alyssa Mansfield, the study’s lead author, who conducted the research as a doctoral student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and is now a research epidemiologist at RTI International.
“It provides compelling evidence that Army spouses are feeling the impact of recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The result is more depression, more stress, more sleepless nights,” Mansfield added.
Understanding the scope of the problem can help the U.S. military better plan mental health prevention and treatment programs for the families of active duty personnel, she said.
The study also may provide insight into families’ long-term medical needs.
The study has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine. (ANI)
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