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ReutersWASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers are significantly more likely to report mental health problems six months after returning home from combat than on initial assessments, Army researchers said on Tuesday.
Soldiers reported greater concern about interpersonal conflicts, post-traumatic stress, depression and alcohol problems in the second mental health screening, the researchers said.
They also found that one in five active-duty soldiers and almost half of reserve soldiers were receiving or in need of mental health services after combat.
"The rates that we previously reported based on surveys taken immediately upon return from deployment substantially underestimate the mental health burden," the military authors wrote in the report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"This study suggests that the mental health problems identified by Veterans Affairs clinicians in more than a quarter of recent combat veterans may have already been present within months of returning from war," the researchers wrote.
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