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Professor Roberto Rona

Professor of Public Health Medicine

Biography

I was awarded my medical degree by the University of Chile in 1968, my PhD was awarded by the university of London in 1976 based on the topic “An epidemiological and genetic study of idiopathic growth hormone deficiency”. I obtained my membership of the faculty of Public Health (MFPH) in 1985 and the fellowship of the faculty (FFPH) in 1990. I specialised in Public Health. I have worked in a broad range of topics: evaluating nutritional status of children, obesity, food allergy, asthma in the UK and coronary heart disease risk factors in Latino-America and the evaluation of new technology. I entered the field of military mental health in 1999. My main contributions in military mental health have been on the appropriateness of pre and post-deployment screening for mental disorders in the forces, the mental health consequences of overstretch in the forces, aetiology and prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), functional impairment related to PTSD and alcohol misuse, and methodological issues related to bias such as “healthy warrior effect” in surveys.  

 

Research Interests

  • Public Health  
  • Military Health 
  • Mental Disorders 

    News

    Alcohol misuse remains high among UK military personnel who were in service at the start of the 2003 conflict in Iraq

    The King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) has found that more than two thirds (68%) of UK military personnel continue to misuse alcohol at levels...

    Researchers identify the reasons for drinking in UK military personnel

    Armed Forces personnel who are medically discharged most likely to struggle with transition into civilian life

    Personnel discharged from the military in an unplanned way (including as a result of medical problems) have worse mental health outcomes than those leaving...

    Two soldiers talking at dawn

      News

      Alcohol misuse remains high among UK military personnel who were in service at the start of the 2003 conflict in Iraq

      The King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) has found that more than two thirds (68%) of UK military personnel continue to misuse alcohol at levels...

      Researchers identify the reasons for drinking in UK military personnel

      Armed Forces personnel who are medically discharged most likely to struggle with transition into civilian life

      Personnel discharged from the military in an unplanned way (including as a result of medical problems) have worse mental health outcomes than those leaving...

      Two soldiers talking at dawn