Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Sociodemographic Risk Factors for Serious Psychological Distress among U.S. Veterans: Findings from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Psychiatric Quarterly Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Serious Psychological Distress (SPD) is a measure of mental health associated with poor functioning. This study identified sociodemographic risk factors for SPD, among veterans using Veterans Health Administration (VHA), TRICARE or the Civilian Health and Medical Programs for Uniformed Services (CHAMP) (all referred herein as VA coverage) and compared risk factors for SPD to non-veterans. VA coverage offers preventative care and treatment for illnesses and injuries to veterans with the aim of improving their quality of life. Veterans with and with no SPD, using VA coverage aged 18 to 64 years were sampled from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (n = 525 total, n = 48 veterans with serious psychological distress) were compared to each other and to non-veterans sampled from the NHIS (n = 24,121 total and n = 1055 with serious psychological distress), by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, education level, living arrangements, education level, number of chronic health conditions, and region of residence. The greatest proportion of veterans with SPD were female, middle aged (45–64 years), white, had less than a high school education, and lived alone or with other adults (compared to those living with a spouse/partner). The greatest proportion of veterans with SPD lived in the Southern and Western U.S. regions, and the smallest proportion lived in the Northeastern U.S. region. Hispanic and white veterans were at increased risk for SPD relative to black veterans, and relative to their same race/ethnic counterparts in the non-veteran civilian population. Additional analyses suggest that veterans with SPD experience greater barriers to care compared to veterans without SPD. Further research is warranted to examine access to mental and physical health care providers in U.S. regions with the greatest proportions of veterans with SPD. Particular attention is needed for female veterans due to their high rates of SPD relative to male veterans.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kaplan M, Huguet N, McFarland BH, Newsom JT. Suicide among male veterans: prospective population based study. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007;61:619–24.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Kessler RC, Barker PR, Colpe LJ, Epstein JF, Gfroerer JC, Hiripi E, et al. Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003;60:184–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Kessler, R.C., Berglund, P.A., Glantz, M.D., et al.: Estimating the prevalence and correlates of serious mental illness in community epidemiological surveys. In: Manderscheid, R.W., Henderson, M.J., eds. Mental health, United States, 2002. Rockville: US Department of Health and Human Services 155–116, 2004.

  4. Case A, Deaton A. Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2015;112:15078–83.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Curtin SC, Warner M, Hedegard H. Increase in suicide in the United States, 1999–2014. National Center for Health Statistics data brief, no 241. Hyattsville: National Center for Health Statistics; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  6. McCarthy J, Bossart RM, Katz IRR, Thompson C, Kemp J, Hanneman CM, et al. Predictive modeling and concentration of the risk of suicide: implications for preventive interventions in the US Department of veterans affairs. Am J Public Health. 2015;105(9):1935–42.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Zedler B, Xie L, Wang L, Joyce A, Vick C, Brigham J, et al. Development of a risk index for serious prescription opioid-induced respiratory depression or overdose in veterans’ health administration patients. Methodology, mechanisms, & translational research section. Pain Med. 2015;16:1656–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Zelaya C, Nugent C. Trends in health insurance and type among military veterans: United States, 2000-2016. Am J Public Health. 2018;108(3):361–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Weissman J, Russell D, Beasely J, Jay M, Malaspina D, Pegus C. Disparities in healthcare utilization and functional limitations in adults with serious psychological distress in the United States findings from the NHIS: 2006–2014. Psychiatr Serv. 2017. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201600260.

  10. Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, VA conducts Nation’s largest analysis of veteran Suicide. July 7, 2006

  11. Botman SL, Moore TF, Moriarity CL, et al. Design and estimation for the National Health Interview Survey, 1995–2004. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD. 2(130), 2000.

  12. Parsons VL, Moriarity C, Jonas K, et al. Design and estimation for the national health interview survey, 2006-2015. Vital and health statistics. Series 2, data evaluation and methods research, National Center for Health Statistics (165), 1–53.

  13. Ward BW, Schiller JS, Goodman RA. Multiple chronic health conditions among US respondents. Prev Chronic Dis. 2014;11:1303–89.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Buchanan ND, King JB, Rodriguez JL et al. Changes among US cancer survivors: comparing demographic, diagnostic, and health care findings from the 1992 and 2010 National Health Interview Surveys. International Scholarly Research Network Oncology, 1–9, 2013.

  15. SUDAAN (Release 10.0) [computer software]. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International, 2008.

  16. Weissman J, Pratt L, Miller E, et al. Serious psychological distress among adults: United States, 2009–2013. NCHS data brief, no 203. Hyattsville: National Center for Health Statistics; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  17. McCarthy J, Blow F, Ignacio RV, Ligen MA, Austin KL, Valenstein M. Suicide among patients in the veterans affairs system: rural-urban differences in rates, risks and methods. Am J Public Health. 2012;102(S1):S111–7.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Goetz LL, Ottamanelli L, Barnett SD, Sutton B, Njoh E. Relationship between comorbidities and employment among veterans with spinal cord injury. Top Spinal Cord Intl Rehab. 2017;24(1):44–53. https://doi.org/10.1310/sci16-00047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Mattocks KM, Yano EM, Brown A, Casares J, Bastian L. Examining women veteran’s experiences, perceptions and challenges program (VCP). Med Care. 2018;56:557–60. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0000000000000933.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropathology and Molecular Imaging, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Judith D. Weissman & Lisa Dixon

  2. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, 28608, USA

    David Russell

  3. Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, 10468, USA

    Rachel Harris, Fatemah Haghighi & Marianne Goodman

  4. Physicians and Surgeons and New York Presbyterian, Columbia University Vagelos College, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Lisa Dixon

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Fatemah Haghighi & Marianne Goodman

Authors
  1. Judith D. Weissman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Russell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rachel Harris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lisa Dixon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Fatemah Haghighi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Marianne Goodman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Judith D. Weissman.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

None of the authors disclose potential conflicts of interest.

The research enclosed does not involve human participants and/or animals.

Informed consent

Informed consent was not required as it was obtained from respondents when the initial survey responses were collected.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

All authors provided: (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data for the article; (2) drafting of the article or reviewing it and revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Weissman, J.D., Russell, D., Harris, R. et al. Sociodemographic Risk Factors for Serious Psychological Distress among U.S. Veterans: Findings from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey. Psychiatr Q 90, 637–650 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-019-09651-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-019-09651-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation