Prevalence of Past-Year Mental Disorders in the Canadian Armed Forces, 2002-2013

Zamorski, Mark A.; Bennett, Rachel E.; Rusu, Corneliu; Weeks, Murray; Boulos, David; Garber, Bryan G.

doi:10.1177/0706743716628854

Cited by 51 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The other risk factors we identified for post-deployment mental health problems (e.g., female gender, not being an officer) mirror those of other research [2,11,41]. Prior to our research, the best evidence of the relative impact of combat exposures on mental health was limited to the estimates associated with the sum of all types of combat experiences [14,15,24,[42][43][44][45][46] or the relative contributions of various types of lifetime exposures [17,42].…”

Section: Comparison With Other Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, significant increases in combat exposure for the CAF as a whole occurred over the period 2002-2013 [41]; it would be hard to imagine that this would have no impact on its PAF. Another potential explanation is that Sareen et al [17] did not explore the contribution of other items on the trauma inventory used in the survey that might have occurred on deployment, including items on exposure to atrocities, being in a serious accident, being threatened by a weapon, and others.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contribution of traumatic deployment experiences to the burden of mental health problems in Canadian Armed Forces personnel: exploration of population attributable fractions

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Zamorski

2018

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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Purpose Mental health problems are prevalent after combat; they are also common in its absence. Estimates of deploymentattributability vary. This paper quantifies the contribution of different subtypes of occupational trauma to post-deployment mental health problems. Methods Participants were a cohort of 16,193 Canadian personnel undergoing post-deployment mental health screening after return from the mission in Afghanistan. The screening questionnaire assessed post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and exposure to 30 potentially traumatic deployment experiences. Logistic regression estimated adjusted population attributable fractions (PAFs) for deployment-related trauma, which was treated as count variables divided into several subtypes of experiences based on earlier factor analytic work. Results The overall PAF for overall deployment-related trauma exposure was 57.5% (95% confidence interval 44

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Section: Comparison With Other Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison With Other Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of traumatic deployment experiences to the burden of mental health problems in Canadian Armed Forces personnel: exploration of population attributable fractions

Born

Zamorski

2018

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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“…xtensive research over the last two decades has demonstrated that military personnel involved in overseas deployments are at risk of exposure to potentially traumatic situations, such as combat and witnessing atrocities (Hines, Sundin, Rona, Wessely, & Fear, 2014;Westwood, McLean, Cave, & Slakov, 2010). Since 2001, Canada has deployed over 40,000 men and women to join the combat efforts in Afghanistan (Ben-Zeev, Corrigan, Britt, & Langford, 2012;Boulos & Zamorski, 2013;Zamorski et al, 2016); and in the United States, over 2.6 million have been deployed (Greer & Vin-Raviv, 2019). During this time, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has seen an increase in the number of soldiers returning from Afghanistan reporting an operational stress injury (OSI).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is estimated that between 13.5% (Zamorski, Rusu, & Garber, 2014) and 19% (Boulos & Zamorski, 2013) of Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan report an OSI within 4 years of their return from deployment. While much of the current research focuses on PTSD, other common conditions include major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and social phobia (Ben-Zeev et al, 2012;Fikretoglu, Brunet, Guay, & Pedlar, 2007;Greer & Vin-Raviv, 2019;Kim, Britt, Klocko, Riviere, & Adler, 2011;Westwood et al, 2010;Zamorski et al, 2016). In the United States, positive screens for PTSD range from 16% to 32% (Greer & Vin-Raviv, 2019;Maguen et al, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

Wilderness Adventure Program May Help Combat Perceptions of Stigma Among Veterans

et al. 2020

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Operational stress injuries (OSIs) are an increasing concern for military personnel, particularly those returning from conflict zones. Over the last decade, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has seen a sharp increase in the number of soldiers returning from Afghanistan who are reporting OSIs. Efforts have been made by the CAF and other agencies to help this population get the help they need through specialized programming. However, some are still not seeking treatment, in part due to the perceived stigma associated with mental illness. One novel approach to improving mental well-being is the Outward Bound Canada Veterans (OBCV) program. These adventure-based wilderness education courses are shown to have a positive impact on well-being among the veteran population. This study explores how the Outward Bound program facilitates a stigmafree environment which allows participants to more fully benefit from the therapeutic wilderness setting. This exploratory mixed-methods study used a pre-, post-, concurrentnested mixed-methods design. This small-scale study evaluated the experience of participants (n = 20) in the 2016 program. The Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory was administered at three times followed by a single semi-structured interview (n = 6) covering themes related to the OBCV program and perceptions of self-stigma and public stigma. This study found that the process of the OBCV program facilitated an environment that was perceived by participants to be stigma-free. Evidence from interviews suggests aspects of self-stigma, such as gaining a sense of personal empowerment, may be positively influenced by participation in wilderness or adventure programs.

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“…Until now, cross-sectional surveys have been the main source of epidemiological data on major depression in military personnel. These surveys have provided valuable information on the prevalence of major depression across different military organizations [1,3,8]. They have also shed new light on the occupational factors associated with major depression in military personnel [9] and on stigma perceptions [10] and care-seeking behaviors [11] related to this condition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence of major depression diagnoses in the Canadian Armed Forces: longitudinal analysis of clinical and health administrative data

Thériault

Hawes

Garber

et al. 2019

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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Purpose Major depression is a leading cause of morbidity in military populations. However, due to a lack of longitudinal data, little is known about the rate at which military personnel experience the onset of new episodes of major depression. We used a new source of clinical and administrative data to estimate the incidence of major depression diagnoses in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel, and to compare incidence rates between demographic and occupational factors. Methods We extracted all data recorded in the electronic medical records of CAF Regular Force personnel, at every primary care and mental health clinical encounter since 2016. Using a 12-month lookback period, we linked data over time, and identified all patients with incident diagnoses of major depression. We then linked clinical data to CAF administrative records, and estimated incidence rates. We used multivariate Poisson regression to compare adjusted incidence rates between demographic and occupational factors. Results From January to December 2017, CAF Regular Force personnel were diagnosed with major depression at a rate of 29.2 new cases per 1000 person-years at risk. Female sex, age 30 years and older, and non-officer ranks were associated with significantly higher incidence rates. Conclusions We completed the largest study to date on diagnoses of major depression in the Canadian military, and have provided the first estimates of incidence rates in CAF personnel. Our results can inform future mental health resource allocation, and ongoing major depression prevention efforts within the Canadian Armed Forces and other military organizations.

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Prevalence of Past-Year Mental Disorders in the Canadian Armed Forces, 2002-2013

Abstract: Objective: More than 40

Cited by 51 publications

References 23 publications

Contribution of traumatic deployment experiences to the burden of mental health problems in Canadian Armed Forces personnel: exploration of population attributable fractions

Contribution of traumatic deployment experiences to the burden of mental health problems in Canadian Armed Forces personnel: exploration of population attributable fractions

Wilderness Adventure Program May Help Combat Perceptions of Stigma Among Veterans

Incidence of major depression diagnoses in the Canadian Armed Forces: longitudinal analysis of clinical and health administrative data

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