Mental and Physical Health Status and Alcohol and Drug Use Following Return from Deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan

The authors of this study used a national sample of Veterans within one year of returning from deployment in Afghanistan (OEF) or Iraq (OIF) to examine: (1) mental health symptoms and problematic alcohol/drug use, and (2) differences in mental health and alcohol/ drug use problems by gender, Service component, Service branch, and deployment operation. Findings suggest significantly higher rates of mental health and substance abuse in OEF/OIF Veterans than in the general population.