Vietnam Veterans Still Suffering After All These Years

This study is missing a lot of information including the simple fact is that when more Vietnam veterans were alive back in 1978, they knew they had 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD. They also knew the numbers would go up from there.

When you read the "quarter of million" in your email, understand that there are less Vietnam veterans still alive today to count. They fought for everything done on PTSD but are the last to be remembered. They are the majority of veterans committing suicide. They are the majority of the backlog of VA claims. It is great to finally see this reminder but sad to be reminded of just how far we have not come.

Many Vietnam veterans still suffer from PTSD decades later
CBS News
By ASHLEY WELCH
Jul 22, 2015

Philip Paolini served four years in the Vietnam War as a marine. In the years since then, he's faced a number of hardships, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse and homelessness.

And Paolini's story is far from uncommon. New research shows that four decades after the Vietnam War ended, more than 270,000 veterans who served in the war zone suffer from symptoms of PTSD, a mental health condition characterized by painful flashbacks, severe anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the disturbing events they experienced.

The study, published online Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry, also found that at least one-third of those veterans exhibiting symptoms of PTSD suffer from major depression, as well.

Researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center followed up with Vietnam War veterans who had participated in a study from 1984 to 1988. Of the 1,839 men and women still alive from the original study, over 1,400 participated in at least one phase of the new study, which involved a health questionnaire, health interview and clinical interview.
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