Epidemiology and prevention of combat-related post-traumatic stress in OEF/OIF/OND service members

This article summarizes information about the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military personnel and Veterans who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts as well as the disorder's impact and efforts to prevent it in this population. We examine prevalence in light of epidemiologic methods and discuss associated outcomes, etiology, and factors affecting risk for PTSD. Prevention strategies are presented both in terms of individual-level interventions and operational strategies designed to mitigate the development of PTSD. Our findings indicate that while research into the prevalence and consequences of PTSD in the Iraq and Afghanistan cohort has been significant, relatively little is known about the effectiveness of approaches designed to prevent it.