VA lists top reasons troops seek care

Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans no longer in the military are most likely to seek care for musculoskeletal diseases, mental health disorders, and symptoms without an immediate known cause, such as rashes or dizziness, new statistics show.

The numbers, provided to the Government Accountability Office by the Department of Veterans Affairs, include 229,015 service members who served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 who have left the military and had a medical appointment at a VA facility. A total of 636,306 service members who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan have left the military...

The numbers also show that more veterans requested treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder in specific geographic areas. For example, 1,026 veterans asked for help for PTSD symptoms in upstate New York compared to 49 in Grand Junction, Colo. Those numbers are important because even as the VA struggles to get mental health care to rural areas, its resources are stressed in other regions. A total of 39,243 veterans asked for treatment for PTSD.

Read the rest at Army Times