Sending soldiers to war puts their children left at home at higher risk of abuse and neglect, says a study out Tuesday.

The study among military families shows that reports of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and child neglect peaked during the main deployment of troops to Iraq. When deployments began, reports of abuse quickly jumped from 5 in 1,000 children to 10 in 1,000.

The study found that victims were typically age 4 or younger and the abuser was usually the parent who remained at home while a spouse was deployed. Military families had lower rates of child maltreatment than civilian families before war. The study found that abuse rates soared when parents were sent to active duty.

"Among military personnel with at least one dependent, the rate of child maltreatment in military families increased by approximately 30% for each 1% increase in the percentage of active-duty personnel departing to or returning from operation-related deployment," according to the study, in the May 15 issue of American Journal of Epidemiology, out today.

"The stress of war extends beyond the soldier and the military personnel to impact the family," said lead researcher Danielle Rentz, now an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She conducted the study while at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The potential for greater maltreatment as deployments increase "is something that we have been concerned about for quite some time," says Barbara Cohoon, a medical care expert with the National Military Family Association.

Army spokesman Paul Boyce says much has improved since the 2002-03 period reflected in the study, including support programs in medicine, counseling, schools and the work of chaplains.

At Texas' Fort Hood, home to about 70,000 military family members, the post is now working with the Military Child Education Coalition to improve community involvement with military families, Boyce said. "The U.S. Army, like many American communities, takes a solid teamwork approach to assisting families who have a soldier deployed," he said.

Previous studies have linked military deployment to higher divorce rates and spousal violence, but this study is the first to suggest a link to child abuse.

The scope of the study was limited, analyzing data from a Texas registry of verified child abuse cases in military and other families in that state from 2000 to 2003, the most recent data available. Researchers found that after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the rate of child abuse stayed relatively stable among both military and non-military families, with the rate among military families lower than non-military.

That changed in 2002. The rate of abuse within military families steadily increased through the latter half of that year as the nation mobilized for war. And it dramatically increased in January 2003, shortly before the invasion of Iraq.

The rate of abuse dipped after the fighting started in Iraq but stayed above the rate of non-military families. Then it spiked again three months into the war. Rentz says it is unclear why it dropped: anything from education campaigns to a drop in reported cases over the winter holidays could have played a role, she says.

The researchers used Texas data because it was very complete. The state is home to several military installations, including one of the Army's largest at Fort Hood, home of two divisions — the 4th Infantry and 1st Cavalry. Fort Hood has suffered more casualties in the Iraq war than any other military base in the country.

Rentz says more detailed studies are needed to determine what leads to the abuse, but she says there is no reason to think the situation is better in other states today.

"Families are still under stress, and that is one of the key points," she says. "We really need more data to see what is going on."

Enlarge By Steve Traynor, Killeen Daily Herald via AP Soldiers line up to board a plane to deploy from Fort Hood, Texas, to Iraq. Deployments coincide with increased child abuse, according to a study. Fort Hood works with the Military Child Education Coalition to improve community involvement with its 70,000 military families.