Iraq, Afghan wars caused PTDC to increase among UK soldiers: Study

Higher rates of mental disorders have been reported in British soldiers who were deployed to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new study has revealed.

Results of the King's College London study, published on Monday, said rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have increased among the British soldiers over the past years, mainly due to repercussions of deployments to Iraq (2003-2011) and in Afghanistan (2001-2014).

The study said rates of probable PTSD among current and former serving military personnel increased from four percent in 2004-2006 to six percent in 2014-16.

The research, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, also showed that frontline soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were most affected, but those who have since left the military have also been grappling with higher rates of PTSD.

The PTSD rates among ex-military personnel who had combat roles in the two wars was about 17 percent while six percent of those who were deployed in support roles, such as logistics, also reported symptoms suggesting the disorder.

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The rate was reported to be about nine percent among veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars compared to five percent of those who did not deploy to those conflicts.

The wars in fact caused the rates of probable PTSD to significantly jump among the British army personnel as for the first time veterans deployed in conflicts reported substantially higher rates of the disorder than those still serving.

The study showed that the rate of probable PTSD among currently serving personnel was close to the rate among the general population, around five percent.

Britain contributed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan mainly at the request of the US government, which had claimed it was fighting terrorism.

However, the then ruling Labour Party government has repeatedly been criticized for relying on false intelligence to launch the attack on Iraq, a country which was believed at the tome to be possessing weapons of mass destruction. Britain’s contribution to the Afghan war has also met a backlash with many saying the military endeavor has caused the security situation in the country to deteriorate.

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