Characterizing PTSD symptom profiles in special forces operators and support personnel: Justification for a Precision Medicine Approach.

Given the large number and diverse types of PTSD symptoms, examination of subtypes within the comprehensive PTSD criteria is necessary. This is especially true for subpopulations of active-duty service members such as specialized military units that undergo assessment and selection, receive extensive training, and have significant operational experience and trauma exposure. The current study identified PTSD subtypes in 16,284 U.

An examination of the potential core symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder: What is integral after removing general psychopathology & distress?

Many confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) have examined the structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with some suggesting increased complexity (i.e., 6+ factors), while others suggesting a more refined structure (i.

Impact of PTSD treatment on postconcussive symptoms in veterans: A comparison of sertraline, prolonged exposure, and their combination.

Many Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan struggle with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the effects of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Some people with a history of TBI report a constellation of somatic, cognitive, and emotional complaints that are often referred to as postconcussive symptoms (PCS). Research suggests these symptoms may not be specific to TBI.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy in Military and Veterans Healthcare Systems: Clinical, Legal, and Implementation Considerations.

Purpose Of Review: This review discusses the current and projected landscape of psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), with a focus on clinical, legal, and implementation considerations in Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare systems.

Recent Findings: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)- and psilocybin-assisted therapy have shown promising outcomes in efficacy, safety, tolerability, and durability for PTSD and depression, respectively. MDMA-assisted therapy is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on an Expanded Access ("compassionate use") basis for PTSD, with full approval projected for 2024.

Associations of health care staff burnout with negative health and organizational outcomes in the U.S. military health system.

Rationale: Burnout is a personal and occupational phenomenon that has been associated with negative physical and psychological outcomes in medical staff. Additionally, there are implications for healthcare organizations, as those staff who are burned out are more likely to have lower productivity or leave the organization. As with the Covid-19 pandemic, future national emergencies and potentially large-scale conflicts will require similar and likely even larger scale responses from the U.

Calibrating the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C) for detecting alcohol-related problems among Canadian, UK and US soldiers: cross-sectional pre-deployment and post-deployment survey results.

Objectives: Excessive alcohol use can bring about adverse health and work-related consequences in civilian and military populations. Screening for excessive drinking can help identify individuals at risk for alcohol-related problems who may require clinical interventions. The brief validated measures of alcohol use such as the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), or abbreviated AUDIT-Consumption (AUDIT-C), are often included in military deployment screening and epidemiologic surveys, but appropriate cut-points must be used to effectively identify individuals at risk.

The Impact of Just and Unjust War Events on Mental Health Need and Utilization within U.S. Service Members.

: Soldiers are resilient to just war events, such as killing enemy combatants and life-threatening experiences, but these same soldiers appear to struggle with unjust war events, such as killing a noncombatant or being unable to help civilian women and children in need. This study is the first to examine how just and unjust war experiences are associated with clinical health service outcomes. : Two samples of soldiers in different stages of readjustment from deployment were drawn from a longitudinal, survey-based study of a US Army brigade.

Pathways to mental health care in active military populations across the Five-Eyes nations: An integrated perspective.

Military service is associated with increased risk of mental health problems. Previous reviews have pointed to under-utilization of mental health services in military populations. Building on the most recent systematic review, our narrative, critical review takes a complementary approach and considers research across the Five-Eyes nations from the past six years to update and broaden the discussion on pathways to mental healthcare in military populations.

Combat Experience, New-Onset Mental Health Conditions, and Posttraumatic Growth in U.S. Service Members.

: Studies examining posttraumatic growth (PTG) rely on surveys evaluating PTG in relation to prior traumatic experiences, resulting in psychometric problems due to the linkage of the dependent and independent variables. Few studies have assessed PTG following combat deployment while also controlling for mental health problems.: Longitudinal data on PTG, combat experience, and mental health were examined among U.

Comparison of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist Instruments From Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition vs Fifth Edition in a Large Cohort of US Military Service Members and Veterans.

Importance: The definition of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) changed markedly between the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and DSM-5, creating challenges for studies and in medical settings spanning this transition.

Objective: To evaluate the ability to compare and assess PTSD, based on DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria, using PTSD Checklists (PCLs).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This diagnostic study was conducted with survey data collected in October 2019, from the Millennium Cohort Study, a population-based US military cohort study.

Order effects in PTSD network analysis: important implications for diagnostic conceptualization, treatment refinement, and research.

Background: For decades confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has been the preeminent method to study the underlying structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, methodological limitations of CFA have led to the emergence of other analytic approaches. In particular, network analysis has become a gold standard to investigate the structure and relationships between PTSD symptoms. A key methodological limitation, however, which has significant clinical implications, is the lack of data on the potential impact of item order effects on the conclusions reached through network analyses.

Rates of Behavioral Health Conditions and Health Risk Behaviors in Operators and Support Personnel in U.S. Special Operations Forces.

: Rates of behavioral health disorders and potential protective factors in U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) have not been well studied, including differences between Operators and Support personnel, despite very high levels of combat exposure in these military personnel.

Impact of a Service Line Management Model on Behavioral Health Care in the Military Health System.

Large health care systems are seeking to reduce variation in care delivery and improve outcomes. This column describes the U.S.

Efficacy of Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Sertraline Hydrochloride, and Their Combination Among Combat Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Meta-analyses of treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that trauma-focused psychotherapies produce greater benefits than antidepressant medications alone.

Objective: To determine the relative efficacy of prolonged exposure therapy plus placebo, prolonged exposure therapy plus sertraline hydrochloride, and sertraline plus enhanced medication management in the treatment of PTSD.

Design, Setting, And Participants: The Prolonged Exposure and Sertraline Trial was a randomized, multisite, 24-week clinical trial conducted at the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, Ralph H.

Energy Drink Use in U.S. Service Members After Deployment: Associations With Mental Health Problems, Aggression, and Fatigue.

Introduction: Energy drink use has become widespread, particularly by service members, but its association with mental health problems and other behavioral and health problems such as aggression and fatigue is unclear. The present study examines the association between energy drink use and mental health problems, aggressive behaviors, and fatigue in a military population.

Materials And Methods: At 7 months following a combat deployment, 627 male infantry soldiers were surveyed.

Measuring Aggregated and Specific Combat Exposures: Associations Between Combat Exposure Measures and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Alcohol-Related Problems.

Research has shown combat exposure to be associated with negative mental health outcomes. Different combat exposure measures are not composed of the same combat experiences, and few combat exposure measures have been directly compared to another measure. Furthermore, research about the unique associations between specific combat experiences and mental health is lacking.