Full study can be downloaded here at: Service Dogs for Veterans and Military Members With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Hibah Khaja, PharmD
Suicidality among veterans decreased by 20% after 3 months of service dog partnership.
Psychiatric service dogs significantly improve symptom severity, depression, anxiety, and psychosocial functioning for military members and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to study results published in JAMA Network Open. These findings suggest that service dogs may effectively supplement standard care.
Relative to the general population, veterans experience high rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide. Current treatments for PTSD have limited effectiveness, uptake, and retention – prompting many veterans to seek alternative therapy options, like psychiatric service dogs for PTSD. However, the efficacy of these service dogs in improving symptom severity remains largely unexplored.
In a prospective non-randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03245814), researchers aimed to evaluate the effect of trained service dogs on PTSD severity, depression, anxiety, and psychosocial functioning among veterans with PTSD. The researchers recruited participants from August 2017 to December 2019 via the K9s For Warriors database. The primary outcomes of interest included self-reported and clinician-rated assessments of PTSD symptom severity, depression, and anxiety after 3 months of service dog partnership. Secondary outcomes included psychosocial functioning, social health, quality of life, resilience, and anger levels, measured using validated scales.
A total of 156 veterans were included in the present study. The researchers assigned participants to either receive a trained psychiatric service dog (intervention group: n=81) or be placed on a waiting list (control group: n=75) according to their position on the list. These service dogs were specially trained in PTSD-related skills and paired with veterans during a comprehensive 3-week training program. Participants had a mean (SD) age of 37.6 (8.3) years and a majority were men (75%) and White (76%).
Based on standardized self-reported and clinician-assessed symptom severity, service dog partnership may serve as an effective complementary intervention for military service-related PTSD.
Compared with the control group, veterans who received a service dog for PTSD demonstrated significantly great improvement in PTSD symptom severity after 3 months of partnership, as measured by both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) PTSD Checklist (mean difference: -11.5; 95% CI, -16.2 to -6.6; P <.001) and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (mean difference: -7.0; 95% CI, -10.8 to -4.5; P <.001). The intervention group also had significantly greater improvements in depression (P =.02) and anxiety (P <.001) relative to individuals without service dogs for PTSD.
Those who were paired with service dogs for PTSD also had significantly greater scores across each measure of social health and quality of life (all P ≤.02). Additionally, suicidality decreased from 55% at baseline to 35% at follow-up for the intervention group, compared with only a 1% decrease in the control group.
"Compared with usual care alone, partnership with a trained psychiatric service dog was associated with lower PTSD symptom severity and better psychosocial functioning for US military members and veterans after only 3 months of this intervention," the researchers concluded. "Based on standardized self-reported and clinician-assessed symptom severity, service dog partnership may serve as an effective complementary intervention for military service-related PTSD."
Study limitations include non-random allocation of treatment based on waiting list position, potential bias from self-report, and the use of service dogs trained by a single organization.
Disclosures: One study author declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.
Hibah Khaja, PharmD
Suicidality among veterans decreased by 20% after 3 months of service dog partnership.
Psychiatric service dogs significantly improve symptom severity, depression, anxiety, and psychosocial functioning for military members and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to study results published in JAMA Network Open. These findings suggest that service dogs may effectively supplement standard care.
Relative to the general population, veterans experience high rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicide. Current treatments for PTSD have limited effectiveness, uptake, and retention – prompting many veterans to seek alternative therapy options, like psychiatric service dogs for PTSD. However, the efficacy of these service dogs in improving symptom severity remains largely unexplored.
In a prospective non-randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03245814), researchers aimed to evaluate the effect of trained service dogs on PTSD severity, depression, anxiety, and psychosocial functioning among veterans with PTSD. The researchers recruited participants from August 2017 to December 2019 via the K9s For Warriors database. The primary outcomes of interest included self-reported and clinician-rated assessments of PTSD symptom severity, depression, and anxiety after 3 months of service dog partnership. Secondary outcomes included psychosocial functioning, social health, quality of life, resilience, and anger levels, measured using validated scales.
A total of 156 veterans were included in the present study. The researchers assigned participants to either receive a trained psychiatric service dog (intervention group: n=81) or be placed on a waiting list (control group: n=75) according to their position on the list. These service dogs were specially trained in PTSD-related skills and paired with veterans during a comprehensive 3-week training program. Participants had a mean (SD) age of 37.6 (8.3) years and a majority were men (75%) and White (76%).
Based on standardized self-reported and clinician-assessed symptom severity, service dog partnership may serve as an effective complementary intervention for military service-related PTSD.
Compared with the control group, veterans who received a service dog for PTSD demonstrated significantly great improvement in PTSD symptom severity after 3 months of partnership, as measured by both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) PTSD Checklist (mean difference: -11.5; 95% CI, -16.2 to -6.6; P <.001) and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (mean difference: -7.0; 95% CI, -10.8 to -4.5; P <.001). The intervention group also had significantly greater improvements in depression (P =.02) and anxiety (P <.001) relative to individuals without service dogs for PTSD.
Those who were paired with service dogs for PTSD also had significantly greater scores across each measure of social health and quality of life (all P ≤.02). Additionally, suicidality decreased from 55% at baseline to 35% at follow-up for the intervention group, compared with only a 1% decrease in the control group.
"Compared with usual care alone, partnership with a trained psychiatric service dog was associated with lower PTSD symptom severity and better psychosocial functioning for US military members and veterans after only 3 months of this intervention," the researchers concluded. "Based on standardized self-reported and clinician-assessed symptom severity, service dog partnership may serve as an effective complementary intervention for military service-related PTSD."
Study limitations include non-random allocation of treatment based on waiting list position, potential bias from self-report, and the use of service dogs trained by a single organization.
Disclosures: One study author declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.
