Timeline of Psychological and Physiological Effects Occurring During Military Deployment on a Medical Team

The negative effects of deployment on military mental health is a topic of major interest. Predeployment and postdeployment assessments are common, but to date there has been little to no intradeployment assessment of military members. This study attempts to determine the physiological and psychiatric effects on Servicemembers over the course of deployment, to provide a baseline data set and to allow for better prediction, prevention, and intervention on these negative effects.

A retrospective analysis was performed on physiological and psychiatric data collected on a single deployed medical team between 16 January 2020 and 12 July 2020. Patient health screening questionnaires (PHQ-9) and physiological measurements were completed serially twice weekly on five active-duty military volunteers for the entirety of a scheduled 6-month deployment.

Depression symptom development followed a linear trend (p = .0149) and severity followed a quadratic trend (p < .001) over a length of a deployment. Weight (p = .435) and pulse (p = .416) were not statistically altered. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) had a statistically significant reduction (p < .001).

In this specific population, there was a linear relationship between time deployed and depression symptoms and severity. Depression symptom severity decreases toward the end of deployment but does not return to baseline before deployment's end.