Mental health disorders attributed to more service member hospital stays than any other ailment: DoD

Mental health disorders are on the rise in the military, now accounting for more hospitalizations than any other ailment, according to a new Defense Department health report. 

Diagnoses of mental health disorders are up 40% over the past five years, from 2019 to 2023, according to a Defense Health Agency report. It found that anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) doubled over the five-year period. 

In 2023, active-duty service members experiencing a mental health disorder made up 54.8% of hospital bed stays, more than every other affliction combined.

From 2019 through 2023, 541,672 active-duty service members across all branches were diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder, according to the report. About 47% of those were diagnosed with more than one mental health disorder. In 2023, there were 1.3 million U.S. active duty troops.

The sobering report follows the New Year's Day vehicle attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people, revealing that the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was an Army veteran with multiple deployments.  

That same day in Las Vegas, Col. Matthew Livelsberger, an active member of the Army Green Berets, shot himself in the head in a Cybertruck full of explosives. 

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"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 read. 

The Pentagon could not immediately be reached for comment on what's behind the uptick in diagnoses and whether U.S. forces are mentally prepared to go into combat if needed. 

Female service members, those who are younger and those in the Army, were most likely to be diagnosed. 

The Navy led all other branches in depressive disorders, bipolar disorders and personality disorders.

Active duty female service members were diagnosed with PTSD twice as often as their male counterparts. 

The medical data came from records accessed via the Defense Medical Surveillance System and Theater Medical Data Store. It analyzed ambulance encounters, hospitalization or outpatient visits to a psychiatric facility, and other factors to define a mental health diagnosis. 

Meanwhile, military suicides ticked up again last year, following a dark trend the Pentagon has struggled to combat. 

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Overall, there were 523 reported suicides in 2023, the most recent data available, up from 493 in 2022. The number of active-duty troops who died by suicide increased to 363 from 331 the previous year, up 12%. 

Suicide is by far the biggest killer of service members, killing more than training accidents, illnesses, homicides or combat, according to the Defense Department (DOD). In addition to the sheer number, the rate of suicides per 100,000 also went up last year. 

Suicide deaths by active-duty service members have been on the rise since 2011.

Another troubling sign from the data is how many suicide victims sought help: 67% had a primary care encounter in the 90 days before their death; 34% had been to an outpatient mental health center; 8% had been discharged from an in-patient mental health facility; and 18% were on psychotropic medication at the time of their death. 

Within a year prior to their death, 44% of military suicide victims reported intimate relationship problems, and 42% reported a behavioral health diagnosis.