Acute military psychiatric casualties from the war in Iraq.
BACKGROUND
The view that most military personnel evacuated from war zones are suffering from combat stress reactions, or are otherwise traumatised by the horrors of war, has an impact on all aspects of military psychiatry.


OBJECTIVE
To delineate the reasons for psychiatric aeromedical evacuation from Iraq from the start of build-up of UK forces in January 2003 until the end of October that year, 6 months after the end of formal hostilities.


METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted of field and in-patient psychiatric assessments of 116 military personnel evacuated to the UK military psychiatric in-patient facility in Catterick Garrison.


RESULTS
Evacuees were mainly non-combatants (69%). A significant proportion were in reserve service (21%) and had a history of contact with mental health services (37%). Only 3% had a combat stress reaction. In over 85% of cases evacuation was for low mood attributed to separation from friends or family, or difficulties adjusting to the environment.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings have implications especially for screening for suitability for deployment, and for understanding any longer-term mental health problems arising in veterans from Iraq.
Turner
Mark A
MA
Department of Community Mental Health, Duchess of Kent's Barracks, Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire DL9 4DF, UK. mturner20@compuserve.com
Kiernan
Mathew D
MD
McKechanie
Andrew G
AG
Finch
Peter J C
PJ
McManus
Frank B
FB
Neal
Leigh A
LA
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D014857:Warfare