A call to address growing mental health problems in and out of the miltary

Men and women serving in our armed forces are returning home with not only broken bodies, but broken brains from significant mental health problems, says Dr. Mark M. Rasenick, a professor of physiology, biophysics and psychiatry at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine.

Rasenick discussed the issue in the Chicago Tribune last weekend, pegged to a recent Army announcement that it will fund the largest study ever to look into mental health problems, including suicide, among military personnel, and try to identify the factors needed to protect soldiers.

A recent Pentagon health survey said 49 percent of the nation's National Guard members, 38 percent of Army soldiers, and 31 percent of the Marines suffer from anger, depression or alcohol abuse after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rasenick noted the military mental health concerns in a larger article calling for a global approach to understand the causes of depression and ways to treat it.

Rasenick reports that the problem is becoming increasingly serious and costly, and the U.S. ought to take the lead in acquiring a more thorough understanding of the biological causes behind mental health problems.

"There's evidence this problem is growing. Insurance providers report 10 percent to 20 percent increases in demand for mental health services in 2008 compared with the previous year. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2020 depression will be the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease," Rasenick writes.