Mental health leading cause of military hospital stays

[unhappycamper]

http://www.indystar.com/usatoday/article/2868421



n this 2004 file photo, the nation's flag flies high at the G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center, in Jackson, Miss.

Mental health leading cause of military hospital stays
by Gregg Zoroya and Meghan Hoyer, USA TODAY

Post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and other mental illnesses accounted for more days spent by troops in the hospital than any other medical condition in the military in 2012, including war wounds, injuries and illness, according to Pentagon data.

The numbers show how years of exposure to combat trauma created a core of servicemembers with severe mental health problems - about 20,000 last year - who accounted for more lost workdays than those with any other health issue.

In the worst cases, troops remained hospitalized more than a month. Only servicemembers with severe amputations and long rehabilitation stay longer, according to Pentagon data provided in response to USA TODAY queries.

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Mental health inpatients made up only 26% of troops hospitalized last year, but they accounted for half of the days troops spent in hospitals. Nearly eight of 10 troops hospitalized for PTSD have been on at least one combat deployment.