Association Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Primary Care Provider-Diagnosed Disease Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans

The Veterans Hospital's Association (VHA) administrative records of 4,416 OIF/OEF Veterans using the upstate New York Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system were analyzed to determine if a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was associated with primary care provider-diagnosed physical disease in the first 5 years postdeployment. Veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD were at elevated risk of early-onset primary care providers (PCP)-diagnosed hypertensive, circulatory, digestive, nervous system, and musculoskeletal disease.