Insomnia is the most commonly reported symptom and predicts other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in U.S. service members returning from military deployments

This study retrospectively reviewed records from current members of the U.S. military who had completed the PTSD Checklist (PCL) at 0 and 3-months after returning from deployments. Insomnia was the most commonly reported symptom of PTSD on the PCL and had the highest average severity scores. At init...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military medicine 2010-10, Vol.175 (10), p.759-762
Main Authors: McLay, Robert N, Klam, Warren P, Volkert, Stacy L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Afghan Campaign 2001
Female
Humans
Insomnia
Iraq War, 2003-2011
Male
Military Personnel - psychology
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders - complications
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - complications
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis
United States
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Summary:This study retrospectively reviewed records from current members of the U.S. military who had completed the PTSD Checklist (PCL) at 0 and 3-months after returning from deployments. Insomnia was the most commonly reported symptom of PTSD on the PCL and had the highest average severity scores. At initial screen, 41% of those who had been to Iraq or Afghanistan reported sleep problems. Those who had initially reported any insomnia had significantly higher overall scores for PTSD severity at follow-up than did service members without such a complaint. These results show that insomnia is a particularly frequent, severe, and persistent complaint in service members returning from deployment. Such complaints merit particular attention in relation to the possibility of PTSD.
ISSN:0026-4075
1930-613X
DOI:10.7205/MILMED-D-10-00193