<p class="first" id="P2">This study examined the prevalence, correlates and psychiatric
comorbidity of Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) in a nationally representative sample of U.S. veterans using data
from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (n=3119
veteran respondents). The overall prevalence of lifetime PTSD was 6.9%. Lifetime PTSD
prevalence was higher among veterans who were female (13.2%), aged 18–29 years (15.3%),
Native American (24.1%) or Black (11.0%), previously or never married (9.6% and 11.2,
respectively), had incomes less than $70,000 (7.2%–10.1%) and had >2 traumatic
events
(5.2%–14.7%). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidity between
lifetime PTSD and other psychiatric disorders was highest for any personality disorder
(adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =11.1, 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.7, 21.5), any mood
disorder (AOR=9.7, 95% CI, 4.6, 20.4) and any anxiety disorder (AOR=9.6, 95% CI, 5.1,
17.7), followed by nicotine, drug, and alcohol use disorders (AOR= 3.4, 95% CI,1.8,
6.5; AOR= 3.1, 95% CI, 2.0, 5.9; 2.1, 95% CI, 1.5, 3.1, respectively). Associations
remained with any mood, anxiety, and personality disorders after controlling for other
psychiatric disorders (AOR= 3.7, 95% CI, 1.2, 10.9; AOR= 3.5, 95% CI, 1.6, 7.4; AOR=4.5,
95% CI, 2.3, 8.7, respectively). Veterans who sought treatment for PTSD had more comorbid
conditions, although treatment was only associated with comorbid drug use disorder
(AOR=2.4, 95% CI, 1.0, 5.7). In U.S. veterans, PTSD is highly comorbid with other
psychiatric disorders. Although many veterans remain untreated, comorbidity may influence
treatment seeking.
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