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VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP)

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CSP# 569: Veteran Health Study

Also known as: A Twin Study of the Course and Consequence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Vietnam Era Veterans

Investigator Access

What's Available

  • Research data: Individual participant data collected during the study (SAS, Stata, SPSS, Excel, CSV, and text formats)
  • Participant contact information: Name and contact information of participants recruited for the Vietnam-Era Twin (VET) Registry (PDF format - scanned copy of permission to contact form)

Available Documentation 

Data dictionary  

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 to submit their intended research proposal to the VET Registry Project Manager at vetr@va.gov. Investigators may be asked to submit a full application, study proposal, and other documentation. Anyone considering using the VET Registry must complete an investigator application at least 20 business days prior to when the submitting investigator needs completed Registry 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

  • To determine the prevalence of lifetime and current psychiatric conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among Veterans who served during the Vietnam Era
  • To characterize the physical health and level of current disability in Veterans who served during the Vietnam Era

Era of Service

Vietnam 

Population

Members of the Vietnam Era Twin (VET Registry), including males born between 1939 and 1957 who served in the military from 1965 or later (Vietnam Era).

Study Design 

Cross-sectional cohort 

Time Period 

January 2010 - March 2013

Setting 

National

N

Mailed questionnaires: 7,384
Telephone interviews: 6,004

Response Rate

Mailed questionnaires: 57%
Telephone interviews: 45%

Recruitment Method    

All members of the VET Registry who had entered military service in 1965 or later and who were known to be alive and had not withdrawn from the Registry were recruited to participate in this study. Potential participants were contacted by mail and followed up by telephone.

Compensation

$75

Data Collected

  • Sociodemographic information
  • Military service factors
  • Long-term physical outcomes (e.g., heart disease, diabetes)
  • Mental health outcomes (e.g., PTSD diagnosis and symptom burden, depression, anxiety)
  • Disability
  • Health behaviors
  • Use of health care services

Data Collection Methods

  • Mailed physical and mental health questionnaire
  • Telephone interview using a structured psychiatric interview to diagnose PTSD
  • Sub-study provider survey confirming self-reported health diseases and diabetes

Funding Source 

VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP)

Investigators

Study Chair: Jack H Goldberg, PhD, MA, BA
Study Chair: Kathryn M. Magruder, PhD, MPH, BA

Contact 

vetr@va.gov   /   1-800-329-8387, extension 61964

Selected Publications 

Vaccarino V, Goldberg J, Magruder KM, Forsberg CW, Friedman MJ, Litz BT, Heagerty PJ, Huang GD, Gleason TC, Smith NL. Posttraumatic stress disorder and incidence of type-2 diabetes: a prospective twin study. J Psychiatr Res. 2014 Sep;56:158-64.

Goldberg J, Magruder KM, Forsberg CW, Kazis LE, Ustün TB, Friedman MJ, Litz BT, Vaccarino V, Heagerty PJ, Gleason TC, Huang GD, Smith NL. The association of PTSD with physical and mental health functioning and disability (VA Cooperative Study #569: the course and consequences of posttraumatic stress disorder in Vietnam-era veteran twins). Qual Life Res. 2014 Jun;23(5):1579-91. 

Magruder K, Yeager D, Goldberg J, Forsberg C, Litz B, Vaccarino V, Friedman M, Gleason T, Huang G, Smith N. Diagnostic performance of the PTSD checklist and the Vietnam Era Twin Registry PTSD scale. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2015 Oct;24(5):415-22. 

Goldberg J, Magruder KM, Forsberg CW, Friedman MJ, Litz BT, Vaccarino V, Heagerty PJ, Gleason TC, Huang GD, Smith NL. Prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Aging Vietnam-Era Veterans: Veterans Administration Cooperative Study 569: Course and Consequences of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Vietnam-Era Veteran Twins. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2016 Mar;24(3):181-91.

More Information

  • Study ClinicalTrials.gov site
  • ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01175629
  • Dimensions for VA summary (Requires an account to access outside the VA network. Dimensions for VA is a database that connects publications, grants, patents, clinical trials, and policy documents)