Chronic illness with complexities: mental illness and substance use among Veteran clinic users with diabetes.
OBJECTIVE
Create a taxonomy and examine the predictors of the often co-occurring conditions of substance use disorders and mental illness in veterans with diabetes.


METHODS
Merged Veteran Health Administration and Medicare fee-for-service claims data (N = 485,893).


RESULTS
Thirty-one percent of patients with diabetes were diagnosed with either mental illness or substance use and had higher rates of diabetes-related complications. Women were more likely to have serious mental illness; African Americans and Latinos more likely to have drug and/or alcohol use.


CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of substance use disorder and mental illness differed by socio-demographics, suggesting the need for tailored diabetes management interventions.
Banerjea
Ranjana
R
Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey Healthcare System, Center for Health Care Knowledge Management, East Orange, New Jersey 07018, USA. Ranjana.Banerjea@va.gov
Sambamoorthi
Usha
U
Smelson
David
D
Pogach
Leonard M
LM
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002965:Classification; D015897:Comorbidity; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011153:Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*