Study says 1/3 of Iraq, Afghanistan veterans at VA hospitals have mental health problems

More than a third of veterans treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals were diagnosed with mental health problems -- including post-traumatic stress, depression and alcoholism -- after returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to a study released today. Researchers who tracked nearly 300,000 returning veterans confirmed what many military officials have suspected: The number of soldiers seeking help for everything from depression to marital problems is at an all time high. Nearly 37 percent of those treated nationwide at Veterans Affairs medical centers for the first time were suffering from mental health problems, according to the study published on the American Journal of Public Health website. Nearly 22 percent of the soldiers studied were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, researchers said. Another 17 percent were diagnosed with depression, 7 percent had alcohol problems and 3 percent had drug problems.