The latest research into the consequences of the Iraq or Afghanistan war concluded that 300,000 of the 1.5 million U.S. troops involved in the war have symptoms of posttraumatic disorder or major depression and a similar number may have suffered traumatic brain injuries, mainly from explosions.

The 500-report, suggestively titled “Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences and Services to Assist Recovery,” was concluded in January by a prominent research organization, the Rand Corporation, which surveyed a total of 1,965 service members across the country from all branches of the armed forces.

Terri Tanielian, co-leader of the study called the situation “a major health crisis” that could have “long-term consequences” if measures are not taken.

“These conditions can impair relationships, disrupt marriages, aggravate the difficulties of parenting, and cause problems in children that may extend the consequences of combat trauma across generations," the study says.

The findings are the more worrisome, as they revealed that only 53 percent of service members and veterans who reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression sought treatment. "Among those who met diagnostic criteria for post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, only 53 percent had seen a physician or mental health provider to seek help for a mental health problem in the past 12 months."

The situation is getting even worse, as about half of the 53 percent got “minimally adequate treatment,” the report found. "There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Tanielian.

Colonel Lore Sutton of the Pentagon’s Center for Excellence on post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries expressed her concern about the report’s findings, saying: “Clearly, that’s a finding that concerns us. It’s very consistent with the civilian literature, as well as with our own assessment of the challenges in this area. Closing that gap between knowledge and practice is really one of our very top priorities."

She further said that part of the problem is that some of these veterans don’t seek treatment because they fear it will affect their security clearances and their future careers.

“For the folks who experience post-traumatic stress, that's a much larger number of folks than actually develop the disorder. And so part of our challenge is to help families help individuals, warriors, help communities understand what are the normal reactions, the human responses, to stress,” said Sutton.