title: Co-occurring mental health and alcohol misuse: dual disorder symptoms in combat injured veterans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Service members face difficulties during military deployment potentially resulting in morbidities such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and alcohol misuse. The co-occurrence of alcohol misuse and mental health disorders is termed dual disorder and has been associated with adverse outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 812 high-risk (i.e., endorsing combat exposure with documented combat injury) male U.S. veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, injured between October 2004 and November 2007, identified from the Expeditionary Medical Encounter Database.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PTSD and depression symptoms were significant correlates of alcohol misuse. Veterans with dual disorder symptoms reported a significantly higher mean number of health complaints on the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment compared with those endorsing only mental health symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results highlight how mental health disorders among injured service members increases the odds of problem drinking and those with dual disorder have elevated health complaints.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Modeling, Simulation, and Mission Support, Naval Health Research Center, 140 Sylvester Road, San Diego, CA 92106-3521, USA. Electronic address: heltemesk@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Heltemes
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Clouser
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: MacGregor
authors.forename: Sonya B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Galarneau
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol misuse; Depression; Dual disorder; PTSD; Veterans