Differences in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Between U.S. Civilians and Military Veterans in the Gulf War and Post-9/11 War Eligibility Cohorts: A Research Note

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among military veterans who experienced combat compared with those who did not. However, it is unknown how PTSD rates differ between veterans and nonveterans when accounting for combat status. We used a sample of 10,880 participants from the 2021 and 2022 National Wellbeing Survey—national annual cross-sectional surveys of U.S. adults aged 18 to 64—to assess relationships between military veteran-combat status and PTSD diagnosis among two war eligibility cohorts: the Gulf War and post-9/11 conflicts. We found that among both war eligibility cohorts, combat veterans were more likely than nonveterans to report a PTSD diagnosis: 3.42 times greater probability in the Gulf War eligibility cohort and 4.87 times greater probability in the post 9/11 cohort. Noncombat veterans had greater probability of PTSD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.63) than nonveterans only in the post 9/11 cohort. These results underscore the importance of ensuring proper mental health care for combat veterans.