Role of Occupation on New-onset Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression among Deployed Military Personnel

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of military occupation on new-onset post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among U.S. combat veterans recently returned from deployment to Iraq. Enlisted, active duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel without a history of mental disorder were identified from deployment records and linked to medical databases (n = 40,600). Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between occupation and postdeployment PTSD and depression diagnoses by branch of service. Navy health care specialists had higher odds of new-onset PTSD (odds ratio [OR] 4.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.58–7.94) and depression (OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.53–4.34) compared with Navy functional support/other personnel. In addition, Marine combat specialists had higher odds of new-onset PTSD (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.48–2.47) and depression (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.10–1.68) compared with Marine functional support/other personnel. Occupation is associated with the development of new-onset PTSD and depression. The high rates of PTSD and depression among health care specialists warrant further investigation into the potential effects of caregiver stress on mental health.