Iranian Journal of War and Public Health

Aims:  Exposed to the war and chemical weapons, the veterans experience severe mental reactions. One of such experiences is the death coming feeling that finally leads to some disorders such as death depression and death anxiety. The aim of the study was to compare the death depression and anxiety in the chemically-injured and non-chemically-injured veterans in Sardasht Township.

Instrument & Methods: In the comparative-causal descriptive study, 100 veterans including 50 chemically-injured and 50 non-chemically-injured veterans of Sardasht Township were studied in 2016.  The subjects were selected via available sampling method. Data was collected by the death anxiety index and the death depression questionnaire. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16 software using MANOVA and independent T test.

Findings: The mean score of death anxiety in the chemically-injured veterans was significantly higher than the non-chemically-injured veterans (p=0.001). The mean scores of death hoplessness, death failure, and total depression score in the chemically-injured veterans were significantly higher then the non-chemically-injured veterans (p=0.001). Nevertheless, the mean scores of loneliness and death acceptance were not significantly different in the groups, respectively (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The levels of death anxiety and death depression in the chemically-injured veterans of Sardasht Township were higher than the non-chemically-injured veterans.