Mental health diagnoses and utilization of VA non-mental health medical services among returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

Primary Care Physician Perceptions on Caring for Complex Patients with Medical and Mental Illness

“…4,[6][7][8][34][35][36][37] Physicians in a qualitative study on multimorbidity in Britain briefly discussed the interaction between chronic mental and medical conditions. 19 However, by specifically examining experiences with patients with mental and physical illnesses, we were able to clarify which aspects of care for mental illness these internists found most difficult.…”

Associations between sleep difficulties and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in veterans and active duty military personnel of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts

“…Combat deployers were also at increased risk for new-onset CHD at follow-up, and a positive PTSD screen at baseline was associated with newly self-reported CHD at follow-up (N = 27,794) (Crum-Cianflone et al, 2014). Relative to those with no mental health diagnoses, the odds of HTN among Veterans of recent conflicts diagnosed with PTSD ranges from 1.56 to 2.99, depending upon gender and model adjustments (Cohen et al, 2009a(Cohen et al, , 2009b. These findings are consistent with research in Vietnam-era Veterans who were assessed in 1985 and again in 2000.…”

“…A recent twin study in Vietnam-era Veterans found that the incidence of CHD in twins with PTSD at the end of a 13-year follow-up period was double that of their non-PTSD counterparts (Vaccarino et al, 2013). Among Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts using VA services, the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in Veterans with mental health diagnoses is significantly higher than Veterans without mental health diagnoses (Cohen et al, 2009a(Cohen et al, , 2009b.…”

“…Few studies, however, have directly examined associations between sleep disturbance and risk factors for CVD in US military service members. Research findings in several studies suggest a greater prevalence of CVD and poorer health among Veterans relative to their civilian counterparts (Agha et al, 2000;Cohen et al, 2009aCohen et al, , 2009bHoerster et al, 2012;Kazis et al, 1999). In the Millennium Cohort, a registry of military personnel serving since 9/11, deployers with multiple combat exposures were at significantly greater risk of incident HTN relative to deployers without combat exposure, and both deployment and combat exposure were found to be independent predictors of HTN (N > 36,000) (Granado et al, 2009).…”

Characterization of Veterans’ Poisoning Events in the State of Florida

“…Additionally, repeated deployments of troops may actually increase the intensity and duration of both medical and psychological interventions needed for active service personnel as well as veterans. Cohen et al [4] demonstrated that veterans with mental health disorders show greater use of both in-patient and out-patient non-mental health services than those veterans without a mental health diagnosis. Kline et al [5], in their survey of New Jersey National Guard Troops, determined that those with previous deployments under OEF and OIF were "more than 3 times as likely" to indicate alcohol dependence and chronic pain, possibly resulting "in a substantial number of medically impaired soldiers being returned to combat".…”