title: Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Vietnam-Era Women Veterans: The Health of Vietnam-Era Women's Study (HealthVIEWS).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many Vietnam-era women veterans served in or near war zones and may have experienced stressful or traumatic events during their service. Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is well studied among men who served in Vietnam, no major epidemiologic investigation of PTSD among women has been performed.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess (1) the onset and prevalence of lifetime and current PTSD for women who served during the Vietnam era, stratified by wartime location (Vietnam, near Vietnam, or the United States), and (2) the extent to which wartime location was associated with PTSD, with adjustment for demographics, service characteristics, and wartime exposures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey of 8742 women who were active-duty military personnel in the US Armed Forces at any time from July 4, 1965, through March 28, 1973, and alive as of survey receipt as part of Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study 579, HealthVIEWS. Data were obtained from mailed and telephone surveys from May 16, 2011, through August 5, 2012, and analyzed from June 26, 2013, through July 30, 2015.
  
  
  METHODS
  Lifetime and current PTSD as measured by the PTSD module of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, version 3.0; onset of PTSD; and wartime experiences as measured by the Women's Wartime Exposure Scale-Revised.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 4219 women (48.3%) who completed the survey and a telephone interview, the weighted prevalence (95% CI) of lifetime PTSD was 20.1% (18.3%-21.8%), 11.5% (9.1%-13.9%), and 14.1% (12.4%-15.8%) for the Vietnam, near-Vietnam, and US cohorts, respectively. The weighted prevalence (95% CI) of current PTSD was 15.9% (14.3%-17.5%), 8.1% (6.0%-10.2%), and 9.1% (7.7%-10.5%) for the 3 cohorts, respectively. Few cases of PTSD among the Vietnam or near-Vietnam cohorts were attributable to premilitary onset (weighted prevalence, 2.9% [95% CI, 2.2%-3.7%] and 2.9% [95% CI, 1.7%-4.2%], respectively). Unadjusted models for lifetime and current PTSD indicated that women who served in Vietnam were more likely to meet PTSD criteria than women who mainly served in the United States (odds ratio [OR] for lifetime PTSD, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.28-1.83]; OR for current PTSD, 1.89 [95% CI, 1.53-2.33]). When we adjusted for wartime exposures, serving in Vietnam or near Vietnam did not increase the odds of having current PTSD (adjusted ORs, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.75-1.46] and 0.77 [95% CI, 0.52-1.14], respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of PTSD for the Vietnam cohort was higher than previously documented. Vietnam service significantly increased the odds of PTSD relative to US service; this effect appears to be associated with wartime exposures, especially sexual discrimination or harassment and job performance pressures. Results suggest long-lasting mental health effects of Vietnam-era service among women veterans.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Service, Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina2Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Magruder
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center, VA Maryland Health Care System, Perry Point.
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Serpi
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, California5Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, California.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kimerling
authors.affiliation: VA Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan7Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kilbourne
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center, VA Maryland Health Care System, Perry Point.
authors.forename: Joseph F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: US Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Health, Post Deployment Strategic Healthcare Group, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cypel
authors.affiliation: Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, California9Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Frayne
authors.affiliation: Vietnam veteran, Sayville, New York.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Furey
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Studies Program Central Office, VA Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Grant D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Clinical Science Research and Development, VA Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gleason
authors.affiliation: War Related Illness and Injury Center, Washington, DC14Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Reinhard
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts16Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts17Department of Psychiatry, Boston Univers.
authors.forename: Avron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spiro
authors.affiliation: US Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Public Health, Post Deployment Strategic Healthcare Group, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D047829:Vietnam Conflict; D016387:Women's Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*