Nearly 55% of hospital bed stays for active-duty service members between 2019 and 2023 were for mental health disorders — more than every other affliction combined — according to a December Department of Defense Medical Surveillance Monthly Report.
"As service members continue to experience increased rates of mental health disorders after the COVID-19 pandemic, help-seeking behaviors to address psychological as well as emotional well-being should be prioritized to maintain force readiness," the report said.
The report was based on data from the Defense Medical Surveillance System and Theater Medical Data Store, as well as ambulance encounters and hospitalization or outpatient visits to a psychiatric facility.
Here are five things to know:
1. From 2019 to 2023, 541,672 active-duty service members across all branches were diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder, and 47% of them were diagnosed with more than one disorder.
2. Mental health diagnoses are up 40% in the past five years, with anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder rates doubling since 2019.
3. The Navy led in depressive disorders, bipolar disorders and personality disorders. Active-duty female service members were diagnosed with PTSD twice as often as their male counterparts.
4. Suicide is killing more active-duty service members than training accidents, illnesses, homicides or combat, a Fox report said. There were 523 reported suicides in 2023, up from 493 in 2022. Suicide deaths by service members have been on the rise since 2011.
5. Many service members who took their lives sought help, with 67% having a primary care encounter in the 90 days prior to their death; 34% had been to an outpatient mental health center; 8% were discharged from an in-patient mental health facility and 18% were on psychotropic medication at the time of their death. In the year prior to their death, 42% also reported a behavioral health diagnosis.
Read the full report here.