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Podcasts Take Two
50 years on, many Vietnam vets still struggle with PTSD
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Jul 22, 2015
Listen • 6:14
50 years on, many Vietnam vets still struggle with PTSD
A new study crunches the numbers.
U.S. soldiers at Long Binh base in South Vietnam.
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A new study crunches the numbers.

Over 50 years after the fall of Saigon, many veterans of the Vietnam war are still living with the emotional trauma of combat.

The National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study has been tracking the mental health of Vietnam veterans for the past three decades. A report released Wednesday concludes approximately 271,000 veterans from the conflict continue to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Nearly one-third of them receive treatment for depression.

Dr. Charles Marmar is the director of the Cohen Veterans Center at NYU Langone Medical Center and author of the study. He tells Take Two that the study gathered some valuable data:

“The [reason] we wanted to do this study was to try to understand what we could learn from Vietnam veterans which would help us better serve Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as they confront the longer term effects of their military service.”

Press the play button above to hear more about the study.