Race/ethnicity and gender differences in mental health diagnoses among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF; predominantly in Afghanistan) and Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn (OIF and OND; predominantly in Iraq) and are enrolled in the VA are comprised of a growing cohort of women and higher proportions of racial/ethnic minorities than civilians. To compare rates of mental health disorders by race/ethnicity and gender for this diverse cohort, we conducted a retrospective analysis of existing records from OEF/OIF/OND veterans who were seen at the VA 10/7/01-8/1/2013 (N=792,663). We found that race/ethnicity was related to diagnoses of mental health disorders. Asian/Pacific Islanders (A/PIs) were diagnosed with all disorders at lower rates than whites, and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) males were diagnosed with most disorders at higher rates than white males. Research is needed to identify contributing factors to differential rates of diagnoses based on race/ethnicity and gender. A/PIs and AI/ANs have unique patterns of mental health diagnoses indicating they should be considered separately to present a comprehensive picture of veteran mental health.
San Francisco VA Health Care System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA. Electronic address: Kelly.Koo@va.gov.
Kelly H
KH
Koo
San Francisco VA Health Care System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA.
Claire L
CL
Hebenstreit
San Francisco VA Health Care System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA.
Erin
E
Madden
San Francisco VA Health Care System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA.
Karen H
KH
Seal
San Francisco VA Health Care System, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; University of California, San Francisco, Department of Psychiatry, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA.
Shira
S
Maguen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000346:Afghanistan; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D008603:Mental Health; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
Ethnicity; Gender; Mental health disorder diagnoses; Race; Veteran; Women