Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI, USA.
Trauma and Resilience Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Int J Psychiatry Med. 2020 Jul;55(4):281-295. doi: 10.1177/0091217420906659. Epub 2020 Feb 13.
U.S. military special operation forces represent the most elite units of the U.S. Armed Forces. Their selection is highly competitive, and over the course of their service careers, they experience intensive operational training and combat deployment cycles. Yet, little is known about the health-care needs of this unique population.
Professional consultations with over 50 special operation forces operators (and many spouses or girlfriends) over the past 6 years created a naturalistic, observational base of knowledge that allowed our team to identify a unique pattern of interrelated medical and behavioral health-care needs.
We identified a consistent pattern of health-care difficulties within the special operation forces community that we and other special operation forces health-care providers have termed "Operator Syndrome." This includes interrelated health and functional impairments including traumatic brain injury effects; endocrine dysfunction; sleep disturbance; obstructive sleep apnea; chronic joint/back pain, orthopedic problems, and headaches; substance abuse; depression and suicide; anger; worry, rumination, and stress reactivity; marital, family, and community dysfunction; problems with sexual health and intimacy; being "on guard" or hypervigilant; memory, concentration, and cognitive impairments; vestibular and vision impairments; challenges of the transition from military to civilian life; and common existential issues.
"Operator Syndrome" may be understood as the natural consequences of an extraordinarily high allostatic load; the accumulation of physiological, neural, and neuroendocrine responses resulting from the prolonged chronic stress; and physical demands of a career with the military special forces. Clinical research and comprehensive, intensive immersion programs are needed to meet the unique needs of this community.
美国特种作战部队代表着美国武装部队中最精锐的部队。他们的选拔竞争非常激烈，在他们的服役生涯中，他们经历了密集的作战训练和战斗部署周期。然而，人们对这一独特人群的医疗需求知之甚少。
在过去的 6 年中，我们与 50 多名特种作战部队（以及许多配偶或女朋友）进行了专业咨询，这些咨询建立了一个自然观察的知识库，使我们的团队能够确定一系列相互关联的医疗和行为健康需求的独特模式。
我们发现特种作战部队社区内存在一致的医疗困难模式，我们和其他特种作战部队医疗服务提供者称之为“作战人员综合征”。这包括相互关联的健康和功能障碍，包括创伤性脑损伤的影响；内分泌功能障碍；睡眠障碍；阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停；慢性关节/背部疼痛、骨科问题和头痛；物质滥用；抑郁和自杀；愤怒；担忧、沉思和应激反应；婚姻、家庭和社区功能障碍；性健康和亲密问题；保持“警惕”或高度警惕；记忆、注意力和认知障碍；前庭和视力障碍；从军队过渡到平民生活的挑战；以及常见的存在问题。
“作战人员综合征”可以被理解为极高的适应负荷的自然后果；长期慢性应激导致的生理、神经和神经内分泌反应的积累；以及军事特种部队职业的身体要求。需要进行临床研究和全面、深入的沉浸式计划，以满足这一社区的独特需求。
