Stress on the civilian front tied to alcohol abuse in returning soldiers

By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – On returning from deployment to regular civilian life, everyday stresses like marriage problems or healthcare issues could trigger a drinking problem, according to a new study. Stresses in regular life seemed to matter more than traumatic events during deployment in predicting which National Guard members would begin abusing alcohol, researchers found. “I think the big takeaway message is that in the long term mental health for National Guard members, what matters is what happens after they come home,” said lead author Magdalena Cerdá. These findings apply specifically to reserve service members, and the question still remains whether the same would be true in other branches, said Cerdá, an epidemiologist at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York.