May 15 2010
USA Today: "Mental health disorders caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other reason according to medical data released recently by the Pentagon. ... Last year was the first in which hospitalizations for mental disorders outpaced those for injuries or pregnancies in the 15 years of tracking by the Pentagon's Medical Surveillance Monthly report."
The army's surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, explained the spike: "War is difficult. It takes a toll." In 2009, 17,538 military service members were hospitalized for mental health disorders. By contrast, 17,354 hospitalizations were due to pregnancies and 11,156 service members were hospitalized with physical injuries and war wounds (Zoroya, 5/13).
 This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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