Military Medicine
July 2, 2026
Kristi E. Pruiksma, Courtney J Bolstad, Matthew S. Brock et al.
Introduction: Insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are the most prevalent sleep disorders in military personnel. People with both sleep problems (co-morbid insomnia and sleep apnea [COMISA]) experience higher rates of medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Few studies have examined the comorbidity of nightmares among those with insomnia, OSA, or COMISA. This secondary data analysis of...
Military Medicine
July 2, 2026
Alyssa D Frazier, Brian T Gregg, Elaina J DaLomba et al.
Abstract Introduction Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are formally endorsed within Army Holistic Health and Fitness doctrine to enhance mental readiness, cognitive performance, and psychological resilience. Despite growing empirical support for MBIs across civilian and military populations, provider preparedness for implementation within Army Medical Specialist Corps (SP) populations has...
Military Medicine
July 1, 2026
The Impact of Mindfulness on Stress and Resilience During Military Medical Field Exercises.
Military Medicine
2026
Wendy Wen Li, Marc Chao, Jennifer Gaskin et al.
Veterans face unique mental health challenges, including elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety, compounded by cultural barriers to traditional therapies. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) offers a trauma-informed, non-pharmacological intervention tailored to align with military values. This study employed a repeated-measures design with 4 time...
Military Medicine
February 27, 2025
Eugene Lipov, Hunter Rolain, Troy Neufeld
1 citation
Canadian Special Operation Forces Command (CANSOFCOM) operators have been extensively deployed in recent conflicts. They are at risk of trauma and blast exposure as well as the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI). Current psychotherapy and pharmacological approaches provide suboptimal resolution of PTSD and bTBI symptoms. Prior research...
Military Medicine
December 24, 2022
Joshua C. Gray, Mikela A. Murphy, Sierra Carter et al.
10 citations
ABSTRACT Introduction Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression are common in service members and veterans, and the response to currently available treatments is often modest at best. Recent studies suggest potential benefit with psychedelic-assisted therapies (PATs), particularly 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted therapy for PTSD and psilocybin-assisted therapy for...
Military Medicine
December 20, 2022
Grace Vitek, R. Langenfeld, R. Walters et al.
INTRODUCTION Major depressive disorder is a serious, recurrent, and disabling psychiatric illness. Despite many proven treatments with multiple medications or therapies, approximately 30% of patients fail to achieve remission and are considered to have treatment-refractory depression (TRD). Recently, there has been a growing interest in the use of intravenous (IV) ketamine for the treatment of...
Military Medicine
April 26, 2022
E. Saguin, Lieutenant Jean Hulot, Jean-Baptiste Roseau et al.
INTRODUCTION In the military population, trauma-related nightmares (TRNs) are highly associated with deployments and combat-related events. Trauma-related nightmares are also correlated with severity, treatment resistance, and chronicity of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, to date, no specific measure of TRNs has been validated for use in the French language. This study aimed to...
Military Medicine
April 21, 2022
Stephan Rudzki
7 citations
ABSTRACT Introduction Treatment outcomes for PTSD with current psychological therapies are poor, with very few patients achieving sustained symptom remission. A number of authors have identified physiological and immune disturbances in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) patients, but there is no unifying hypothesis that explains the myriad features of the disorder. Materials and Methods The...
Military Medicine
August 14, 2020
Cody Armstrong, Michelle R Kapolowicz
Abstract: Dextromethorphan, a common over-the-counter cough suppressant, has potential for abuse. In the present commentary, we summarize findings to suggest extensive dextromethorphan overuse/abuse within the U.S. military community residing in Okinawa, Japan. We first compared sales of dextromethorphan-containing medications within the U.S. military community of Okinawa, Japan with sales...
Military Medicine
October 17, 2019
Carrie E Brintz, Shari Miller, Kristine L. Rae Olmsted et al.
INTRODUCTION Rates of chronic pain in military personnel are disproportionately high. Chronic pain is often associated with mental health and substance use disorders as comorbid conditions, making treatment of chronic pain complex. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are a promising behavioral approach to managing chronic pain and psychosocial sequelae. The unique nature of the military...
Military Medicine
March 6, 2018
Christopher J Udell, Julie L Ruddy, Philip Procento
15 citations
INTRODUCTION: US Navy recruits who have injuries preventing them from participating in intense physical conditioning are pulled out of boot camp training and receive treatment that includes daily physical therapy, pain medications, and psychoeducational groups. Graduation from boot camp for these recruits requires not only recovering from their injuries but also passing a required Physical...
Military Medicine
March 1, 2018
Valerie J Rice, Baoxia Liu, Paul J Schroeder
Mindfulness meditation training has been shown to reduce stress and improve short-term memory for military personnel. However, no studies have investigated the effects of in-person and virtual world (VW) mindfulness training on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms. In this study, U.S. military active duty service members and veterans...
Military Medicine
March 1, 2018
Paul N Kizakevich, Randall Eckhoff, Janice Brown et al.
Post-traumatic stress and other problems often occur after combat, deployment, and other military operations. Because techniques such as mindfulness meditation show efficacy in improving mental health, our team developed a mobile application (app) for individuals in the armed forces with subclinical psychological problems as secondary prevention of more significant disease. Based on the...
Military Medicine
2018
Robert E Herron, Brian Rees
Current treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are only partially effective. This study evaluated whether an extensively researched stress reduction method, the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, can reduce the PTSD symptoms of veterans. Previous research suggested that TM practice can decrease veterans' PTSD symptoms. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used to...
Military Medicine
October 31, 2017
Madeleine Baldwin, Henry Boilini, Georgine Lamvu
7 citations
In the United States, the suicide rate is climbing and was reported at 13 per 100,000, the highest in 28 years. 1 Suicide is now considered as the 10th leading cause of death, and the rate has been increasing every year from 2000 to 2014 among both women and men and in every age group except those 75 and older. 1 The suicide rate among the veteran population is reportedly higher than the...
Military Medicine
September 2016
Marina A Khusid, Meena Vythilingam
Mindfulness-based interventions have been increasingly utilized in the management of chronic pain since 1982. This second review of a two-part series evaluates the efficacy, mechanism, and safety of mindfulness meditation for chronic pain, substance use disorder, tobacco use disorder, and insomnia frequently co-occurring after return from deployment. Standard databases were searched until...
Military Medicine
September 2016
Carol D Crisp, Marie Hastings-Tolsma, Karen R Jonscher
One of the most common reasons women seek gynecologic health care services is for chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and women in the military are no exception. For women diagnosed with CPP, the burden can be difficult as they struggle to perform military obligations. A chronic low-grade systemic disease believed triggered by inflammation, CPP is difficult to diagnose and treat. With limited treatment...
Military Medicine
September 1, 2016
Marina A Khusid, Meena Vythilingam
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been increasingly utilized in the management of mental health conditions. This first review of a two-part series evaluates the efficacy, mechanism, and safety of mindfulness meditation for mental health conditions frequently seen after return from deployment. Standard databases were searched until August 4, 2015. 52 systematic reviews and randomized...
Military Medicine
2016
Vernon A Barnes, Andrea Monto, Jennifer J Williams et al.
The purpose of the study was to determine whether the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM) decreased the need for psychotropic medications required for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) management and increased psychological wellbeing. The sample included 74 military Service Members with documented PTSD or anxiety disorder not otherwise specified (ADNOS), 37 that...
Military Medicine
June 1, 2015
Autumn M Gallegos, Wendi F. Cross, Wilfred R Pigeon
28 citations
Military sexual trauma (MST) represents a significant public health concern among military personnel and Veterans and is associated with considerable morbidity and suicide risk. It is estimated that 22% of Veteran women and 1% of Veteran men experienced sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment during their military service. Exposure to traumatic stress has detrimental effects...
Military Medicine
October 1, 2014
Tracy H. Goza, Janice Holden, Lee Kinsey
The purpose of this study was to add to the professional literature regarding combat near-death experiences (cNDEs) and to help clinicians and experiencers (cNDErs) recognize this phenomenon as an experience that is not indicative of mental illness. cNDErs were military personnel whose NDEs occurred during active combat or sequelae. Sixty-eight self-reported survivors of combat-related close...
Military Medicine
September 29, 2014
Cassandra Craig, George H Loeffler
22 citations
Recent years have seen the emergence and proliferation of "legal highs" or "designer drugs," compounds purposefully designed as legal alternatives to controlled substances of abuse. This article describes methoxetamine, a dissociative drug belonging to the arylcyclohexylamine class including phencyclidine and ketamine. Methoxetamine acts principally on the glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate...
Military Medicine
July 1, 2013
Vernon A Barnes, John L Rigg, Jennifer J Williams
Active duty U.S. Army Service Members previously diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were selected from review of patient records in the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic at the Department of Defense Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. Patients agreed to practice the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique for 20 minutes twice a day for the duration...
Military Medicine
July 2013
Jared Lenz, Jaime Brown, Seth Flagg et al.
Among recreational drug users, there is a new wave of designer drugs being marketed as "bath salts" and "plant food," which mimic the effects of cocaine/amphetamines and ecstasy (MDMA [3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine]). Presented is the case of a patient who snorted a bath salt called Cristalius. A 22-year-old male Soldier was seen in an emergency department for syncope, agitation,...