Sexual trauma haunts 15% war veterans

Nearly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care from the US Veterans Affairs Department have suffered sexual trauma, from harassment to rape, researchers reported yesterday.

And these veterans were 1.5 times as likely as other veterans to need mental health services, the report found.

"We are, in fact, detecting men and women who seem to have a significant need for mental health services," said Rachel Kimerling of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System in California.