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Ten percent of vets get PTSD therapy

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says veterans aren't getting the treatment they need for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Karen Seal of the San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Center says PSTD has been newly diagnosed in almost 20 percent -- or almost 50,000 -- of the more than 230,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans from 2002-2006 at VA healthcare facilities nationwide.

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However, fewer than 10 percent of newly diagnosed veterans completed the full course of 10-12 week PTSD treatment recommended.

The study, published in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, concluded many veterans did not complete treatment due to significant system-level and personal barriers.

Seal found veterans under age 25, veterans who received their PTSD diagnoses from primary care clinics and needed referrals to a mental health program, and veterans living in rural areas were the least likely to receive follow-up care.

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that may develop in individuals exposed to psychologically traumatic, unexpected, often life-threatening events.

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