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Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on May 23, 2006
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kql023
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Article

The burden of psychological symptoms in UK Armed Forces

Margaret Jones 1 *, Roberto J. Rona 2, Richard Hooper 3, and Simon Wesseley 1

1 King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College, London, UK
2 Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology, & King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College, London, UK
3 Respiratory Epidemiology and Public Health Group, Imperial College, London, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Margaret Jones, E-mail: Margaret.jones{at}kcl.ac.uk


  Abstract

Objective To assess the prevalence of psychological symptoms during periods of relatively low deployment activity and the factors associated with each psychological health outcome.

Methods A survey of 4500 randomly selected UK service personnel was carried out in 2002. The questionnaire included the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the post-traumatic stress disorder checklist (PCL), 15 symptoms and an assessment of alcohol intake.

Results A total of 20% were above cut-offs for GHQ-12, 15% for symptoms, 12% for alcohol intake and 2% for PCL. Gender, age, excessive drinking and smoking were independently associated with most outcomes of interest. Number of deployments was independently associated with multiple symptoms and excessive drinking. High post-traumatic stress disorder score was more frequent in the Army and in lower ranks.

Conclusions Psychological symptoms are highly prevalent in UK Armed Forces. Many risk factors are associated with measures of psychological ill-health.

Keywords: Alcohol consumption; GHQ-12; prevalence; PTSD; risk factors; UK Armed Forces.
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