By the Numbers: 9 September 2019
8.3%
The percentage of active duty military personnel diagnosed with a mental health disorder in 2018, according to a Military.com story reporting on the 2018 Health of the Force study, released last month as part of the August issue of the Military Health System's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.
The article points out that this is far lower than "the overall diagnosis rate" in the U.S., which is 20%, or one in five U.S. adults.
The study looked at the number of diagnoses for eight mental health conditions, including adjustment disorder, alcohol dependence, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis and substance abuse, and found that the most common mental health diagnoses in troops were adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression.
Female service members were diagnosed with mental health conditions at rates higher than men, 12.8% compared with 7.5%, and they outpaced their male counterparts in five of eight conditions reviewed, including adjustment disorder, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Military men were diagnosed with alcohol and substance abuse disorders at rates higher than women, and both were diagnosed at the same rate -- just a tenth of 1% -- for psychosis.
The study also looked at lifetime prevalence for mental health conditions among personnel, or the diagnoses for service members across their military careers. According to the report, more than a quarter of all women, 25.2%, serving on active duty in December 2018 had a history of a mental health condition, while 16.2% of men had received a diagnosis in their lifetime.
8.3%
The percentage of active duty military personnel diagnosed with a mental health disorder in 2018, according to a Military.com story reporting on the 2018 Health of the Force study, released last month as part of the August issue of the Military Health System's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.
The article points out that this is far lower than "the overall diagnosis rate" in the U.S., which is 20%, or one in five U.S. adults.
The study looked at the number of diagnoses for eight mental health conditions, including adjustment disorder, alcohol dependence, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis and substance abuse, and found that the most common mental health diagnoses in troops were adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression.Female service members were diagnosed with mental health conditions at rates higher than men, 12.8% compared with 7.5%, and they outpaced their male counterparts in five of eight conditions reviewed, including adjustment disorder, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.Military men were diagnosed with alcohol and substance abuse disorders at rates higher than women, and both were diagnosed at the same rate -- just a tenth of 1% -- for psychosis.The study also looked at lifetime prevalence for mental health conditions among personnel, or the diagnoses for service members across their military careers. According to the report, more than a quarter of all women, 25.2%, serving on active duty in December 2018 had a history of a mental health condition, while 16.2% of men had received a diagnosis in their lifetime.