Stress-Related Mental Health Symptoms in Coast Guard: Incidence, Vulnerability, and Neurocognitive Performance.
Richard J Servatius, Justin D Handy, Michael J Doria, Catherine E Myers, Christine E Marx, Robert Lipsky, Nora Ko, Pelin Avcu, W Geoffrey Wright, Jack W Tsao
Author Information
Richard J Servatius: Department of Veterans Affairs, Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical CenterSyracuse, NY, United States.
Justin D Handy: Department of Veterans Affairs, Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical CenterSyracuse, NY, United States.
Michael J Doria: United States Coast GuardWashington, DC, United States.
Catherine E Myers: Department of Veterans Affairs, VA New Jersey Health Care SystemEast Orange, NJ, United States.
Christine E Marx: Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness, Research Education and Clinical Center, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical CenterDurham, NC, United States.
Robert Lipsky: Department of Neurosciences, INOVA Health SystemFairfax, VA, United States.
Nora Ko: Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences, Stress and Motivated Behavior Institute, Rutgers UniversityNewark, NJ, United States.
Pelin Avcu: Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences, Stress and Motivated Behavior Institute, Rutgers UniversityNewark, NJ, United States.
W Geoffrey Wright: Neuromotor Sciences Program, Temple UniversityPhiladelphia, PA, United States.
Jack W Tsao: Department of Neurology, University of Tennessee Health Science CenterMemphis, TN, United States.
U.S. Coast Guard (CG) personnel face occupational stressors (e.g., search and rescue) which compound daily life stressors encountered by civilians. However, the degree CG personnel express stress-related mental health symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) is understudied as a military branch, and little is known concerning the interplay of vulnerabilities and neurocognitive outcomes in CG personnel. The current study addressed this knowledge gap, recruiting 241 active duty CG personnel (22% female) to assess mental health, personality, and neurocognitive function. Participants completed a battery of scales: PTSD Checklist with military and non-military prompts to screen for PTSD, Psychological Health Questionnaire 8 for MDD, and scales for behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament, and distressed (Type D) personality. Neurocognitive performance was assessed with the Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment (DANA) battery. Cluster scoring yielded an overall rate of PTSD of 15% (95% CI: 11-20%) and 8% (95% CI: 3-9%) for MDD. Non-military trauma was endorsed twice that of military trauma in those meeting criteria for PTSD. Individual vulnerabilities were predictive of stress-related mental health symptoms in active duty military personnel; specifically, BI temperament predicted PTSD whereas gender and Type D personality predicted MDD. Stress-related mental health symptoms were also associated with poorer reaction time and response inhibition. These results suggest rates of PTSD and MDD are comparable among CG personnel serving Boat Stations to those of larger military services after combat deployment. Further, vulnerabilities distinguished between PTSD and MDD, which have a high degree of co-occurrence in military samples. To what degree stress-related mental healthy symptoms and attendant neurocognitive deficits affect operational effectiveness remains unknown and warrant future study.
