A high proportion of veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) also have a substance use disorder. Diagnosing PTSD in Veterans Affairs Compensation Exams can be complicated when symptoms between the two conditions overlap.
Marc Rosen, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, and researchers at Yale School of Medicine and VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System explored the relationship between documented risky substance use and outcome of disability claims in a sample of 208 post-9/11 veterans seeking compensation for service-connected PTSD.
Contrary to the researchers’ prediction that veterans with documented risky substance use in their disability exams would be less likely to receive a service-connection award, veterans with risky substance use mentioned were more than twice as likely to be awarded service-connection for PTSD than those with no recent substance use mentions.
“These data suggest that substance use is being judged as a symptom of PTSD,” said first author Rebecca Jankowski, BS, researcher at VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System. “We hope that these findings encourage veterans in need of substance use treatment to get it without fear of jeopardizing their PTSD claims.”
The study was published by PLOS One. Other Yale affiliates on the research team were Anne Black, PhD, Institutional Research Associate and Health Science Specialist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System; and Christina Lazar, MPH, Research Associate, VA Connecticut Healthcare System.