Deployment-related mental disorders among Canadian Forces personnel deployed in support of the mission in Afghanistan, 2001–2008
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The conflict in Afghanistan has exposed more Canadian Forces personnel to a greater degree of adversity than at any time in recent memory. We determined the incidence of Afghanistan deployment-related mental disorders and associated risk factors among personnel previously deployed in support of this mission. METHODS: The study population consisted of 30,513 Canadian Forces personnel who began a deployment in support of the mission in Afghanistan before Jan. 1, 2009. The primary outcome was a mental disorder perceived by a Canadian Forces clinician to be related to the Afghanistan deployment. Data on diagnoses and perceptions were abstracted from medical records of a stratified random sample of 2014 personnel. Sample design weights were used in all analyses to generate descriptive statistics for the entire study population. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 1364 days, 13.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 12.1%-14.8%) of the study population had a mental disorder that was attributed to the Afghanistan deployment. Posttraumatic stress disorder was the most common diagnosis (in 8.0%, 95% CI 7.0%-9.0%, of personnel). Deployment to higher-threat locations, service in the Canadian Army and lower rank were independent risk factors associated with an Afghanistan-related diagnosis (e.g., hazard ratio for deployment to Kandahar Province 5.6, 95% CI 2.6-12.5, relative to deployment to the United Arab Emirates). In contrast, sex, Reserve Forces status, multiple deployments and deployment length were not independent risk factors. INTERPRETATION: An important minority of Canadian Forces personnel deployed in support of the Afghanistan mission had a diagnosis of a mental disorder perceived to be related to the deployment. Determining long-term outcomes is an important next step.
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A significant relationship has been identified between traumatic events during deployment and mental disorders and suicide.
“a significant relationship was identified between traumatic events during deployment and mental disorders and suicide.6,21,22”
From Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada (2018) · cites this paper as [21]
The Research section describes combat exposure as a strong predictor of postdeployment mental disorders and reports higher rates of PTSD and other mental disorders among personnel exposed to heavy combat. It does not report a relationship between traumatic events during deployment and suicide; the reference mentioning suicide concerns adverse childhood experiences, not deployment. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Mental Disorder Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel in Canada
Carleton, R. N., Afifi, T. O., Turner, S., Taillieu, T., Duranceau, S., LeBouthillier, D. M., Sareen, J., Ricciardelli, R., MacPhee, R. S., Groll, D., et al. (2018) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0706743717723825 · Cited by 558 · see citing works
“9% of currently active Canadian Armed Forces personnel met diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder within the past year,(6,8) and a significant relationship was identified between traumatic events during deployment and mental disorders and suicide.(6,21,22) Recent efforts by several PSP leaders, advocacy groups, and…”
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Boulos, D., & Zamorski, M. A.
- Affiliations
- Canadian Armed Forces (CA)
- Venue
- Canadian Medical Association Journal
- Publisher
- CMA Joule Inc.
- Published
- 2013-07-02
- Volume
- 185
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- E545-E552
- ISSN
- 0820-3946 (ISSN-L)
- 1488-2329
- PMC
- PMC3735772
- OpenAlex
- W2099278635
- Cited by
- 115
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 11
- FWCI
- 13.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Canadian Medical Association Journal (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- post-traumatic stress disorder, Afghanistan deployment, military personnel, risk factors, Kandahar province, Canadian Army, military mental health, incidence
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Mental Disorders, Canada, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Military Personnel, Retrospective Studies, Severity of Illness Index, Warfare, Cohort Studies, Incidence, Age Distribution, Sex Distribution, Risk Assessment, Young Adult, Afghan Campaign 2001-
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