Objective: Correlates of the sharp increase in Vietnam era veterans diagnosed as having posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) were examined.
Methods: Analyses compared receipt of a PTSD diagnosis and service-connected disability compensation in 2004-2006 and 2007-2009.
Results: Among Vietnam era veterans, the percentage with a PTSD diagnosis in 2007-2009 was 22.2% higher than the percentage with PTSD in 2004-2006; the percentage without PTSD was 6.2% higher than in 2004-2006. Of those with PTSD in 2007-2009, 22.6% were previous VHA service users newly diagnosed ("conversions"); only 12.8% were entirely new to VHA ("recents"). Rates of disability compensation among recents and conversions were almost two and three times higher, respectively, than among those without PTSD.
Conclusions: The increase in Vietnam era veterans with PTSD is associated with more frequent "conversion" to PTSD among previous VHA users and receipt of disability compensation.