Mental health of Dutch peacekeeping veterans 10-25 years after deployment.
OBJECTIVE
This report describes the mental health of Dutch peacekeeping veterans, 10--25 years after deployment, and its association with deployment-related traumatic events.


METHODS
We randomly selected a group of 1046 peacekeeping veterans, who participated in military missions in Lebanon, former Yugoslavia, and various other missions between 1979 and 1997. We sent a questionnaire assessing current levels of psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory--BSI), and a questionnaire assessing trauma related to deployment.


RESULTS
Psychological data were available for 729 veterans. In 83% of the veterans, no significant psychological distress was found, whereas 17% scored above the BSI cut-off for psychopathology. Interestingly, this percentage was equal to that in a non-patient norm group.


CONCLUSIONS
From this finding we concluded that 10--25 years post-deployment, Dutch peacekeeping veterans do not show more psychological distress than the general Dutch population. In addition, we did not find a significant association between trauma exposure 10--25 years ago and current BSI scores. Moreover, trauma-exposure explained only 9% of the variance in psychological distress. Thus, although military peacekeeping operations may have a strong impact on the lives of soldiers, in this group of veterans they do not seem to have caused severe psychological distress10--25 years after deployment.
Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands. e.r.klaassens@lumc.nl
Ellen R
ER
Klaassens
Tineke
T
van Veen
Jos M P
JM
Weerts
Frans G
FG
Zitman
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000208:ethnology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors