Army // Current

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US forces staged more than a dozen foreign raids against al-Qaida

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Naked Japanese major suspended

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Texas Army recruiter suicides to be investigated

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Mental illness cases in British forces neared 4,000 last year

Almost 4,000 new cases of mental illness were diagnosed among the UK's armed forces last year, with those returning from Iraq or Afghanistan the most likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mental health statistics released by the Ministry of Defence yesterday showed that soldiers were more likely than members of the RAF or Royal Navy to have mental health problems, and women and "other ranks" were more at risk than their male counterparts or officers.

Chris Williams, director of the medical finance secretariat in the defence medical services department, said PTSD remained a "rare" condition which had affected just 43 people during the last three months of 2007, 38 of whom had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He added: "It does not surprise me that if you serve in Iraq or Afghanistan you are more likely than others to suffer from PTSD."

Williams said that out of the 4,000 people in the forces who came forward each year for treatment for mental disorders, only 150 people were discharged for mental health reasons. "What that demonstrates is that of the people who come forward and get treatment, the vast majority of them go back to service," he said.

The figures from the defence analytical services agency, an MoD agency, showed 868 personnel were diagnosed with a mental disorder in the last three months of 2007. Women had a higher rate of mental disorder at 8.2 per 1,000 than men at four per 1,000.

The figures showed higher rates of mental health disorder among "other ranks" at 4.9 per 1,000, more than two-and-a-half times that of officers at 1.8 per 1,000.

Surgeon commander Neil Greenberg, senior lecturer in military psychiatry, on secondment to King's College London, said the difference in rates between men and women probably reflected "gender differences" in society. The divergence between officers and other ranks was also likely to be related to factors outside the services, such as social background. The research looked at mental health issues ranging from mood disorders, including depressive episodes and neurotic disorders, through to disorders such as PTSD.

In its report, the agency warned that the statistics should be read with caution, partly because they cannot be compared to previous years' figures as the MoD has changed the way it collates them. "They do not cover the full picture of all mental disorders in the UK armed forces," it said. "Personnel may have been seen in primary care who did not require, or who did not wish, onward referral to the departments of community mental health."

The figures were issued to coincide with the Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps special edition on mental health. The publication looked at treatments available for personnel and veterans suffering from mental health problems.

Almost 4,000 new cases of mental illness were diagnosed among the UK's armed forces last year, with those returning from Iraq... more