Mental health disorders attributed to more service member hospital stays than any other ailment: DoD

Mental health disorders are on the rise within the military, now accounting for more hospitalizations than any other ailment, according to a new Defense Department health report.

In 2023, active-duty service members experiencing a mental health disorder made up 54.8% of hospital bed stays, more than every other affliction combined.

From 2019 through 2023, 541,672 active-duty service members across all branches were diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder, according to the report. About 47% of those were diagnosed with more than one mental health disorder. In 2023, there were 1.3 million U.S. active duty troops.

The sobering report follows the New Year's Day vehicle attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people, revealing that the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was an Army veteran with multiple deployments.