U.S. Army stats: Discharges for mental disorders increase by 64 percent

Disturbing news from a USA Today story as reported in The (Pakistan) Nation on the Web:

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a toll on minds as well as bodies, statistics released by the U.S. Army indicate.

The Army said the number of U.S. soldiers forced to leave the military because of mental disorders increased by 64 percent from 2005 to 2009, USA Today reported.

Last year 1,224 soldiers received a medical discharge for mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

The number accounts for one in nine medical discharges.

Army Lt. Col. Rebecca Porter, a behavioural health official, said research shows "a clear relationship between multiple deployments and increased symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD."

The Pentagon reported in May that mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other medical condition.

Joe Davis, a spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the military is excellent at treating visible wounds but not wounds to the mind.