Pentagon Estimates Up To 360,000 Iraq, Afghanistan War Veterans May Have Brain Injuries

March 5, 2009 8:37 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - About 360,000 U.S. military war veterans deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan may be suffering from brain injuries, according to Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, the head of Pentagon's Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Of the 360,000, between 45,000 to 90,000 still have symptoms of brain injuries that persist and may need expert help, Sutton said in a new conference to observe March as Brain Injury Awareness Month.

This is the first time that the Defense Department revealed that kind of data involving the 1.8 million American soldiers who have served in the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The basis of Sutton's estimate are military health screening programs which said 10 percent to 20 percent of troops have experienced at least a mild concussion, while 3 percent to 5 percent have persistent symptoms that require help from medical specialists like eye doctors for soldiers with vision problems.

In 2008 RAND Corporation released a study which said 320,000 American troops may have suffered brain injuries as a consequence of their participation in Middle Eastern troop deployment by the U.S. government.

The symptoms include persistent memory loss, headaches, mood swings, nausea, hearing impairment and light sensitivity.