Study shows higher risk of dying among some vets

ANN ARBOR, MICH (WXYZ) - If you're a veteran dealing with post traumatic stress and you also have issues with drugs or alcohol, you are at a higher risk of dying.

That from the University of Michigan where a new study is finding a link between the use of drugs and alcohol among those vets who were in Iraq or Afghanistan and death.

This means attention has to focus on treating those who are drug dependent and are suffering from post traumatic stress.

U of M researcher Kipling Bohert, Ph. D. adds,"This study highlights the potential importance of effective treatment for both conditions in helping veterans after they’ve returned from conflict.”

No other study has looked at the connection between post traumatic stress, drug use, and the higher risk of death before.

The results were particularly glaring among younger soldiers.

But, as study co-author Federic C. Blow, Ph.D. points out, this will help the vets in remedying the issue, "In theory, a treatment program that addresses both issues - substance use and PTSD - should reduce the risk of death from all causes, and this may be especially true for the nation’s youngest veterans,”

More information can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871612003328