VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP)

Investigator Access

What's Available

• Research data: Coded individual participant data collected from at two points in time, 1988 and 2013, as well as data from studies utilizing the NVVLS Registry. (SAS, Stata, SPSS, Excel, CSV, and text formats)
• Participant contact information: The name and contact information of participants granting permission to be contacted for further research. The Registry includes only individuals who participated in both time points. (SAS, Stata, SPSS, Excel, CSV, and text formats)

Available Documentation 

• Data dictionary - NVVLS (.xlsx format)
• Survey instruments - NVVRS (.xlsx format)

Dates Data are Available 

Currently available, no end date

Access Criteria

Qualified VA and non-VA investigators working for nonprofit, academic, and research centers are invited submit a Research Resource Request form to the Program Manager at NVVLSR@va.gov. Investigators may be asked to submit a full application, study proposal, and other documentation. Anyone considering using the registry and repository must complete an investigator application at least 20 business days prior to when the submitting investigator needs completed materials. 

All requests are reviewed for scientific and ethical merit. Data access is contingent upon approval by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and, if applicable, a VA Research and Development (R&D) Committee. To gain access, requestors must sign a VA data use agreement. Requestors must be fully compliant with VA data security, privacy and human subjects requirements. 

After approval, Registry staff will create a budget, narrative, letter of support, and signed consortium letter with the local VA R&D office.

Study Characteristics

Objectives

The National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study Registry and Repository supports research on the health and well-being of Vietnam-era Veterans. It is composed of a registry and data repository with participant contact information and data collected from two studies

National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS): a study conducted in 1988 to obtain accurate prevalence rates of postwar psychological problems to serve the needs of the nation's Veterans.

National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study (NVVLS): an embedded follow-up study to NVVRS conducted in 2013 to obtain the prevalence, incidence, and effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related postwar psychological problems among Vietnam Veterans.

Era of Service

Vietnam

Population

Female and male Veterans who served in the U.S. military during the time of the Vietnam conflict (1964-1975)

Study Design

Prospective cohort

Time Period

NVVRS: 1988
NVVLS: 2013

Setting

National

N

1,450 Veterans participated in both the NVVRS and NVVLS

Response Rate

NVVRS: 81% of those contacted

• Vietnam Theater Veterans: 83%
• Vietnam Era Veterans: 77%

NVVLS: 79% of remaining sample from NVVRS (those who were alive and eligible) 

Recruitment Method

Participants were identified from military personnel records. A random sample of eligible Veterans were contacted by telephone and mail and invited to participate in the NVVRS. Those who were still alive and eligible in 2013 were contacted to participate in the follow-up NVVLS.

Compensation

NVVLS: $75

Data Collected

NVVRS: To diagnose posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the following measurements were used: Mississippi Combat-Related PTSD Scale, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-PTSD Scale, Composite Variable, and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R PTSD module.

Measurements were collected in the following constructs

• Demographics
• Marital satisfaction and social support
• Occupational status
• Psychological well-being
• Stressful and traumatic life events
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Psychiatric Comorbidities: DSM-III-R (completed on subset), SCID-III-R (completed on subset)
• Substance use
• Physical health status and health behaviors
• Mental and physical health service utilization

NVVLS: Psychiatric comorbidities were measured again by repeating data collection methods used in NVVRS in addition to using the clinician-administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5), DMS-5, and SCID-NP-IV Modules A, E, and F. Additionally, new measurements were taken in the following constructs

• Cognitive impairment
• Military experience Evaluation

Data Collection Methods

• Self-reported mail survey
• Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI)
• Clinical diagnostic interview administered by a doctoral level psychologist (random subsample only)

Funding Source

VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP)

Investigator

Principal Investigator: Nicholas Smith, PhD

Contact

NVVLSR@va.gov   /   1-800-329-8387, ext. 61965

Selected Publications

Kulka RA, Schlenger WE, Fairbank JA, Hough RL, Jordan BK, Marmar CR, Weiss DS (1988). Contractual Report of Findings from the National Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Study: Volumes 1-4. North Carolina: Research Triangle Institute.¹

Kulka RA, Schlenger WA, Fairbank JA, Hough RL, Jordan BK, Marmar CR, Weiss DS, Grady DA. (1990). Trauma and the Vietnam War Generation: Report of findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study. New York: Brunner/Mazel.¹

Schlenger WE, Corry NH, Kulka RA, Williams CS, Henn-Haase C, Marmar CR. Design and Methods of the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study. 2015; Int. J. Methods Psychiatr. Res., 24: 186–203.

Marmar CR, Schlenger W, Henn-Haase C, Qian M, Purchia E, Li M, Corry N, Williams CS, Ho CL, Horesh D, Karstoft KI, Shalev A, Kulka RA. Course of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 40 Years After the Vietnam War- Findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(9):875-881. 

More Information

Study website