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Alarming New Findings Are Pouring In About PTSD

Sara Newman |
June 21, 2014 | 9:10 a.m. PDT

Deputy Editor

Something else needs to be done to effectively treat PTSD (Twitpic/David Nelson)
Something else needs to be done to effectively treat PTSD (Twitpic/David Nelson)
Scientists are expecting to see a noticeable increase in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other war-related conditions following the return of hundreds of thousands of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are at the cusp of a wave of PTSD," Sandro Galea, a physician, epidemiologist and professor at Columbia University told USA Today. Galea spent years working with other experts to produce a 300-page report on how the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs handle PTSD.

The committee found that delaying treatment to those who need therapy has had serious consequences in people’s long-term recovery and rehabilitation. 

While slightly fewer than 200,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were found to have service-connected PTSD in 2003, the report found that by last year that number had surpassed 650,000. 

Furthermore, the L.A. times is reporting that the study has yielded little evidence that the billions of dollars invested annually in treatment for war veterans is producing results. 

Contact Deputy Editor Sara Newman here. Follow her on Twitter here



 

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