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Normal service within the US navy might decrease, somewhat than heighten, the danger of melancholy, regardless of the comparatively excessive prevalence of the situation amongst lively responsibility and veteran personnel, finds a big observational examine printed on-line in BMJ Navy Well being.
The doubtless protecting results of navy service problem some earlier assumptions about its total results on psychological well being, counsel the researchers.
The navy setting can foster the event and development of melancholy, on account of the enforced separation from family members and help programs and the emotional and bodily toll taken by experiences of fight, level out the researchers. However it could possibly additionally form private development and improve coping expertise, they add.
To discover this additional, the researchers seemed on the potential associations between navy service and the danger of melancholy, drawing on knowledge from 5 cycles of the nationally consultant US Nationwide Well being and Diet Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2023.
Despair was assessed utilizing the Affected person Well being Questionnaire (PHQ-9), which scores the frequency of 9 depressive signs skilled previously two weeks from 0 to three, the place 3 represents “nearly every day.”
A complete rating for all 9 signs of 0–4 signifies no melancholy; 5–9 delicate melancholy; 10–14 average melancholy; and 15 or larger extreme melancholy. A rating of not less than 10 is taken into account indicative of clinically vital depressive signs.
Among the many 25,949 respondents, 2,407 had served within the navy, which, when weighted, corresponds to eight,847,416 individuals; 23,542 hadn’t, similar to 89,206,647 individuals.
In all, 2,548 respondents had been recognized as having melancholy, weighted to symbolize 8,852,943 individuals, whereas 23,401 did not, similar to 89,201,120 individuals.
The general prevalence of melancholy was practically 9.5%, and seven.5% amongst those that had served within the navy.
Important variations had been noticed, relying on navy service and a analysis of melancholy. These included age, intercourse, race, marital standing, schooling stage, revenue, and the presence of hypertension, excessive ldl cholesterol, and diabetes.
After accounting for probably influential components, together with non-Hispanic Black ethnicity, marriage, and a excessive revenue, navy service was related to a 22% decrease danger of melancholy in contrast with no time spent within the Armed Forces.
And after additional changes for hypertension, excessive ldl cholesterol, and diabetes, navy service was related to a 23% decrease danger of melancholy.
Among the many 2,407 veterans, 213 had been identified with melancholy. The unadjusted prevalence of melancholy amongst veterans did not differ considerably from that of anybody else.
However after accounting for probably influential components, feminine intercourse and being single or divorced emerged as vital danger components for melancholy, whereas a excessive revenue and the absence of hypertension had been seemingly protecting. Lively service did not emerge as a major danger issue.
That is an observational examine, and no agency conclusions will be drawn about trigger and impact. The researchers acknowledge that they lacked info on veterans’ experiences of fight, and that kind and size of service, expertise of trauma, and critical sickness can all affect melancholy danger.
However they counsel, “While the prevalence of depression is notably high among both active duty personnel and veterans, this large-sample cross-sectional study does not support the conclusion that military service increases the risk of depression.”
They clarify, “Previous research has indicated that the incidence of depressive symptoms among veterans is nearly double that of the general population; however, these studies often involve samples drawn from health care systems, which may not accurately represent the broader community.”
They conclude, “The NHANES database used in this study provides a representative sample of the US population, confirming that military service may, in fact, serve as a protective factor against depression after adjusting for sociodemographic variables.”
Extra info:
Navy service and melancholy danger amongst American adults: a cross-sectional evaluation based mostly on NHANES knowledge from 2011 to 2023, BMJ Navy Well being (2025). DOI: 10.1136/military-2024-002932
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British Medical Journal
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Research finds US common navy service might decrease, somewhat than heighten, melancholy danger (2025, Might 29)
retrieved 29 Might 2025
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