Overview of Study Design
This study will be a case control study that primarily evaluates the association between PTSD exposure and SUD outcome among veterans who were previously deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq and assess the association between a mental health evaluations in a primary care setting versus a mental health clinic setting in this population. PTSD may increase the risk of the development of an SUD in veterans returning from OEF/OIF/OND. A case control study is relevant for the analysis of these potential associations because the prevalence of substance use disorders in the general population of veterans relatively low. Additionally, the time elapse between a diagnosis of PTSD and the development of a SUD makes a case control study more practical for the study interval.
Veterans of OEF/OIF/OND presenting to VA substance use disorder treatment programs will be assessed by a VA clinician according to the standard of care and assessed according to DSM-V criteria for SUD outcome. Each case and control will be linked to the VA NPCD that will indicate a whether the attending VA physician concluded that PTSD was present in the patient. The PTSD status, clinical setting for diagnosis, Service type, age at deployment, race and sex will all be confirmed through the VA NPCD. The remaining variables of…show more content… Research and clinical studies indicate that there tends to be a biological link between families and drug use disorders. This variable may be associated with genetic factors shared between family member as well as concurrent environment.8 The in person interview will provide information pertaining to family history of substance abuse in first degree relatives. The confounding will be controlled for in the analytic phase of the study through GEE
