Effect of Dwell Time on the Mental Health of US Military Personnel With Multiple Combat Tours

The health care records of 65,704 Active Duty Marines who deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) once or twice were used to investigate the association between the length of time spent at home between deployments (dwell time) with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health disorders. The study revealed significant differences in mental health disorders between Marines with one versus two deployments during OIF. Increased time spent at home between deployments was associated with reduced risk of PTSD and other mental health concerns.