To examine the long-term effects on health and well-being of UK military personnel who sustained physical combat injuries during deployment to Afghanistan.
Approach:
Cohort Study Design: The ADVANCE cohort included UK Armed Forces personnel with physical combat injuries requiring aeromedical evacuation, compared to a demographically matched uninjured group.
Data Collection: Data were collected through medical assessments, clinical interviews, and self-report questionnaires assessing mental health outcomes.
Psychosocial Outcome Measures: Outcomes included alcohol misuse, common mental disorders (CMDs), PTSD, and mental health multimorbidity (MHM).
Key Findings:
Injured personnel reported poorer mental health outcomes compared to uninjured peers.
Those with limb loss did not show increased odds of poor mental health outcomes compared to uninjured personnel.
Concurrent injuries, particularly traumatic brain injury (TBI), may influence mental health outcomes.
Limitations:
The study's findings may not be generalizable beyond the UK military context.
The assessment of TBI severity was based on self-reported data and medical records, which may have limitations.
Conclusion:
Further examination of TBI severity and its impact on mental health outcomes is warranted.
by Daniel Dyball, Cheryl R. Z. See, Alexander N. Bennett, Susie Schofield, Grace Blissitt, Lydia Orton, Harriet Kemp, Christopher J. Boos, Anthony M. J. Bull, David J. Sharp, Neil S. N. Graham, Simon Wessely, Howard Burdett, Nicola T. Fear
