Common mental health conditions among navy divers: A brief report

Abstract

(Van Wijk CH, Martin JH, Firfirey N. Common mental health conditions among navy divers: A brief report. Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine. 2020 December 20;50(4):417–420. doi: 10.28920/dhm50.4.417-420. PMID: 33325025.) Introduction: A recent article reported on common mental health conditions among recreational scuba divers, and observed that the prevalence mirrored national population figures. This raised the question of the extent to which this might also be the case among professional divers. No data on commercial divers could be located; this paper presents the situation among navy divers. Methods: Mental health survey data from 132 South African Navy divers were reviewed to describe the 12-month prevalence of common mood, anxiety, and alcohol misuse disorders. Results: Prevalence of common mood and anxiety conditions appeared to reflect local general population estimates, and the occurrence of alcohol misuse was higher than local population figures, although the usefulness of the population data could be challenged. Conclusions: It appeared that common mental health conditions in both sport and navy divers may generally conform to their respective local general population estimates. If this were to be the case in the broader professional diving environment as well, the inclusion of some form of formal mental health screening during commercial diving medical examinations may be beneficial.