Alcoholism, depression affect troops

LONDON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Depression and alcohol abuse are the top psychological problems faced by British soldiers returning from combat, a psychiatric study found.

The study also found that fewer troops suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome than is widely believed, said Dr. Amy Iverson of King's Center for Military Health Research.

Iverson and her London-based team interviewed 821 British soldiers who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Eighteen percent of those interviewed were diagnosed as alcoholics, 13.5 percent suffered from depression and anxiety and 4.8 percent were diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome, Iverson said in a release Friday.

Military reservists who served in combat were found to be at greater risk of psychiatric injury than regular military personnel, said the study published in the journal of BMC Psychiatry.

The study's conclusions should be "particularly valuable for health service planners, providers and policy makers," Iverson said.