A US senator has called upon the defence department to reveal details of antidepressants prescribed for soldiers deployed in war zone. His concern comes in the context of rising number of suicides in the troops.

Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, wants to determine if the antidepressants have anything to do with the trend.

He says in his letter to Defence Secretary Robert Gates, “On November 3, 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that during the most recent month of October, 16 active‐duty American Soldiers killed themselves, bringing the total number of active‐duty suicides thus far in 2009 to 134. At this rate, it is expected that the total number of suicides in 2009 will eclipse last year’s total of 140 – the highest yearly number of suicides in Army history, and the first time that the rate of active‐duty suicides exceeded that of the U.S. population.

“Multiple deployments, extended separations from family and loved ones, and the overwhelming stress of combat experience have each placed a unique and tremendous strain on the men and women of our all‐volunteer force. In response, Congress has helped provide relief by increasing the size of our forces to reduce the number and frequency of deployments.

“Unfortunately, Congress cannot as easily provide a remedy for the stress or mental trauma created by combat experience. To begin to do so, Congress must first examine how the Department of Defense (DoD) is addressing the dilemma of mental trauma suffered by members of our Armed Forces.