A survey of active-duty veterans and National Guard and Reserve personnel has found that those who were exposed to combat in Iraq or Afghanistan are significantly more likely to engage in heavy drinking and report negative outcomes from drinking, Medical News Today reported Aug. 13.

Researchers led by Isabel G. Jacobson, M.P.H., of the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego examined data from the Millennium Cohort Study, looking at baseline health data collected from July 2001 to July 2003 and follow-up data from June 2004 to February 2006. A variety of inclusion and exclusion criteria generated a study sample of 48,481 individuals, 11.4 percent of whom were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and were exposed to combat there.

The researchers found that among active-duty personnel, deployed individuals were 31 percent more likely than non-deployed individuals to develop new-onset binge drinking at follow-up. Men were more likely than women to report new-onset or changes in binge drinking or alcohol-related problems (such as problems at work or school or inability to get along with others because of alcohol). But women were 1.2 times more likely to report new-onset heavy weekly drinking (defined as more than 7 drinks a week for women and more than 14 a week for men).


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