A new investigation on alcohol misuse by military personnel before and after deployment shows young soldiers and reservists are particularly vulnerable to developing problems with alcohol after returning home from combat.
The study, published in the current edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined more than 77, 000 active duty and reserve military personnel including more than 11,000 who were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Soldiers completed questionnaires related to their drinking habits before and after combat deployment.
Results showed troops who were deployed had a 60 percent higher chance of developing new alcohol abuse problems than those who were not. Among active duty soldiers who experienced combat, 26.6 percent reported unprecedented binge drinking, defined as drinking more than five drinks in a day, 6 percent new heavy weekly drinking, defined as 14 or more drinks per week for men and seven or more drinks for women, and 7.1 percent other alcohol-related problems such as missing work due to a hangover. Similar rates were reported among reservists who saw combat, however reservists were significantly more likely to report all three behaviors.
Overall, younger personnel had the greatest risk for alcohol abuse. Soldiers born after 1980 were 6.7 times more likely to develop new binge drinking problems and 4.7 times more likely to develop problems related to alcohol.
Substance abuse has long been associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These new results suggest that soldiers who are least prepared--reservists and young soldiers--may be especially vulnerable to coping from the emotional effects of war with alcohol or other substances and may constitute an at-risk group requiring special preparation and treatment both before and after deployment.
ABSTRACT: Alcohol Use and Alcohol-Related Problems Before and After Military Combat Deployment
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