Study Examines Combat Stress

Week of September 14, 2009

A recent study of 268 men and women who served in Iraq between 2003 and 2006 found that Soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had poorer attention at the one-year mark, but this link was not found in Soldiers who recently returned from deployment. The study provides more evidence that the psychological wounds of war may appear in various manifestations over time. The study was performed by researchers at Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and Boston University. An abstract of the study is available on the Archives of General Psychiatry website