Exploring Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Substance Dependence and Serious Psychological Distress among US Veterans

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Racial Ethn Health Disparities
• Personal Author:
  Lawson, Schuyler C. ; Arif, Mehreen ; Hoopsick, Rachel A. ; Homish, D. Lynn ; Homish, Gregory G.
• Description:
  Objectives
  
  There are substantial racial/ethnic disparities in substance use and mental health among civilian populations, but few studies have examined these disparities in veterans using a nationally representative sample. Thus, we examined differences in substance dependence and serious psychological distress (SPD) by race/ethnicity among a national sample of US veterans.
  
  Methods
  
  We pooled cross-sectional data from the 2015–2019 waves of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 7,653 veterans aged 18–64 years). Regression models were utilized to examine racial/ethnic differences in DSM-IV substance dependence and SPD with a Benjamini–Hochberg correction applied.
  
  Results
  
  Compared to non-Hispanic White veterans: American Indian/Alaska Native veterans had significantly higher odds of past-year alcohol dependence (AOR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.28, 5.08); Asian American veterans had significantly lower odds of past-year alcohol dependence (AOR = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.62); non-Hispanic Black (AOR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.77), Hispanic (AOR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.65), and veterans of more than one race (AOR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.83) had significantly lower odds of past-month nicotine dependence; Asian American veterans had significantly lower odds of past-year illicit drug dependence (AOR = 0.05, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.35); and non-Hispanic Black veterans had significantly lower odds of past-year SPD (AOR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.55, 0.85) after correction for multiple comparisons.
  
  Conclusion
  
  Overall, racial/ethnic disparities in substance dependence and SPD among veterans are not as stark as in civilian populations, but some disparities remain.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Cross-Sectional Studies Ethnicity Female Health Status Disparities Hispanic Or Latino Humans Male Middle Aged Psychological Distress Substance-Related Disorders United States Veterans Young Adult

  More +
• Keywords:
  Alcohol Dependence Illicit Drug Dependence Nicotine Dependence Psychological Distress Racial Disparities
• Source:
  J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 11(5):2945-2957
• Pubmed ID:
  37603224
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10879463
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  T32 AA007583/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01-CE003144/CC/CDC HHSUnited States/ ; UL1 TR001412/TR/NCATS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; UL1TR001412/TR/NCATS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T32/National Institute of Health/ ; R25 GM095459/GM/NIGMS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; T32AA007583/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 DA034072/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; 5R25GM095459-10/National Institute of Health/ ; T32 GM144920/GM/NIGMS NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R01 CE003144/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/ ; R01-DA034072/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  11
• Issue:
  5
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7f38df85679758d5bcf5b0d8d2c2ee3b3e6560a07ceb4c5e7a53e8f18a7bac0ab5e02968e710a0f92555f17c3cb8fe08dd666c8fea961dbc5c10426e9ae3709a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166664/cdc_166664_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 386.52 KB ]