Disability and Mental Disorders in the Canadian Armed Forces.
The initial goal was to validate the use of a self-report measure of disability in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The main goal was to document the extent of disability in personnel with and without mental disorders.



Data were obtained from the 2013 Canadian Forces Mental Health Survey; the sample included 6700 Regular Forces personnel. Disability was measured with the 12-item version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS-2); established cut points were used to demarcate severe, moderate, minimal, and no disability. The following recent (past-year) and remote (lifetime but not past-year) disorders were assessed with diagnostic interviews: posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and alcohol use disorder.



The WHODAS-2 showed good internal consistency (α = 0.89) and a 1-factor structure. Most personnel had no disability (59.2%) or minimal disability (30.8%). However, an important minority had moderate or severe disability (8.4% and 1.6%, respectively). Individuals with recent disorders reported greater disability than those without lifetime disorders, although many had minimal or no disability (41.2% and 24.7%, respectively). Disability increased with the number of recent disorders. Relative to those without lifetime disorders, individuals with remote disorders showed slightly greater disability, but most had no disabilty (57.1%) or minimal disability (35.0%).



The 12-item WHODAS-2 is a valid measure of disability in the CAF. Mental disorders may be important drivers of disability in this population, although limited residual disability is seen in individuals with remote disorders.
Research and Analysis Section, Directorate of Mental Health, Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Ottawa, ON.
Murray
M
Weeks
Research and Analysis Section, Directorate of Mental Health, Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Ottawa, ON bryan.garber@forces.gc.ca.
Bryan G
BG
Garber
Research and Analysis Section, Directorate of Mental Health, Canadian Forces Health Services Group, Ottawa, ON Department of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
Mark A
MA
Zamorski
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule; disability; mental disorders; military