I did send in advance a couple of published articles that focus on Canadian veterans and military members. I think some of them are being translated. I'll just review some of their highlights and then open it up for questions.
As you're probably aware, Statistics Canada did a survey in 2002, the Canadian community health survey, that had a supplement focusing on currently serving members of the military. Probably the most comprehensive published research on that survey was done by Jitender Sareen in the Archives of General Psychiatry in 2007. The prevalence in any past year of a medical mental disorder—this is for any psychiatric condition—was about 15%. For major depression, it was 6.9%; for PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, it was about 2.3%; for alcohol dependence, it was 4.8%.
The other thing that came out of the analysis was that most individuals who met a criterion for a mental disorder diagnosis were not using mental health services. Furthermore, deployment to combat operations and witnessing atrocities were associated with increased prevalence of mental disorders.
Other published studies that have looked specifically at PTSD include one with a sample of Canadian veterans with medical conditions. In that study, the one-month prevalence rate for PTSD was about 10%. In a sample of American military members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, the prevalence of PTSD was estimated to be between 11% and 17%. In U.K. members, the rate was 4.8%. As you can see, there's quite a variation.
The other thing for combat-related PTSD specifically and other psychiatric illnesses is that there are high levels of comorbidity. When we ask about comorbidity, it means that if you have one thing, such as PTSD, there are chances of having something else. The most common comorbidities are going to be major depression, and then addictions and chronic pain, and then other physical conditions.
The many studies that were done, though, indicate that even though PTSD often presents with significant impairment, if you are using established guidelines or evidence-based practice, remission rates of anywhere from 30% to 50% can be achieved.
I think I will end there, if that's okay.