Table 2.
Utilization of Non-Mental Health Medical Services by Mental Health Category over the Entire Study Period (2001–2008)* †‡
| VA Medical Services | No MH Dx | MH Dx (no PTSD) | PTSD (± other) |
|---|---|---|---|
| N = 157,844 | N = 37,868 | N = 53,728 | |
| Primary care | |||
| Any visit: N (%) | 82,287 (52.1) | 32,903 (86.9) | 49,448 (92.0) |
| Unadjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.67 (1.66–1.68) | 1.77 (1.76–1.77) |
| Adjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.29 (1.28–1.30) | 1.34 (1.33–1.34) |
| Medical/surgical subspecialty | |||
| Any visit: N (%) | 55,501 (35.2) | 20,851 (55.1) | 33,527 (62.4) |
| Unadjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.57 (1.55–1.58) | 1.77 (1.76–1.79) |
| Adjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.37 (1.35–1.38) | 1.59 (1.58–1.61) |
| Ancillary services | |||
| Any visit: N (%) | 87,219 (55.3) | 28,614 (75.6) | 45,484 (85.0) |
| Unadjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.37 (1.36–1.38) | 1.54 (1.53–1.54) |
| Adjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.21 (1.20–1.22) | 1.35 (1.34–1.36) |
| Diagnostic tests/procedure | |||
| Any visit: N (%) | 120,896 (76.6) | 34,583 (91.3) | 50,995 (94.9) |
| Unadjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.19 (1.19–1.20) | 1.24 (1.24–1.24) |
| Adjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.14 (1.13–1.14) | 1.19 (1.18–1.19) |
| Emergency services | |||
| Any visit: N (%) | 38,534 (24.4) | 14,759 (40.6) | 22,724 (44.6) |
| Unadjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.66 (1.64–1.69) | 1.83 (1.80–1.85) |
| Adjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 1.32 (1.30–1.35) | 1.55 (1.52–1.57) |
| Inpatient | |||
| Any visit: N (%) | 2,935 (1.9) | 2,103 (5.8) | 3,519 (7.2) |
| Unadjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 3.11 (2.95–3.29) | 3.86 (3.68–4.05) |
| Adjusted relative risk (95% CI) | 1.00 | 2.34 (2.20–2.48) | 3.18 (3.01–3.36) |
*MH Dx = mental health diagnoses
†Relative risk adjusted for age, sex, race, marital status, component type, military rank, military branch, multiple deployments, main VA facility, facility type, distance to nearest VA, and months in VA healthcare
‡all adjusted relative risk between group comparisons P < 0.001