title: Costs of war: excess health care burdens during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (relative to the health care experience pre-war).
abstract: This report estimates the health care burden related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by calculating the difference between the total health care delivered to U.S. military members during wartime (October 2001 to June 2012) and that which would have been delivered if pre-war (January 1998 to August 2001) rates of ambulatory visits, hospitalizations, and hospital bed days of active component members of the U.S. Armed Forces had persisted during the war. Overall, there were estimated excesses of 17,023,491 ambulatory visits, 66,768 hospitalizations, and 634,720 hospital bed days during the war period relative to that expected based on pre-war experience. Army and Marine Corps members and service members older than 30 accounted for the majority of excess medical care during the war period. The illness/injury-specific category of mental disorders was the single largest contributor to the total estimated excesses of ambulatory visits, hospitalizations, and bed days. The total health care burdens associated with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are undoubtedly greater than those enumerated in this report because this analysis did not address care delivered in deployment locations or at sea, care rendered by civilian providers to reserve component members in their home communities, care of veterans by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, preventive care for the sake of force health protection, and future health care associated with wartime injuries and illnesses.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D062489:Health Impact Assessment; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011041:Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult