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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Life-Course Epidemiology and Social Inequalities in Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1487866
This article is part of the Research Topic Breaking Barriers in LGBT+ Health: Innovations and Insights View all 7 articles

LGBTQ+ status and sex of record in Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder: Demographics, comorbidities, and outpatient encounters

Provisionally accepted
Terri Elizabeth Workman Terri Elizabeth Workman 1,2*Kirsha S. Gordon Kirsha S. Gordon 3,4Joseph L. Goulet Joseph L. Goulet 3,4Cynthia A. Brandt Cynthia A. Brandt 3,4Melissa Skanderson Melissa Skanderson 3,4John O’Leary John O’Leary 3,4Allison R. Warren Allison R. Warren 3Qing Treitler-Zeng Qing Treitler-Zeng 1,2
  • 1 George Washington University, Washington, D.C., United States
  • 2 Washington DC VA Medical Center, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington D.C., United States
  • 3 VA Connecticut Healthcare System, Veterans Health Administration, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven, United States
  • 4 School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: Analyze differences between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) and non-LGBTQ+ Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in terms of demographics, comorbidities, and medical care usage, including differences by sex of record, including separate analyses for transgender Veterans.Methods: Apply chi-square, t-test, ANOVA Welch one-way testing, and absolute standardized difference analyses to a cohort of 277,539 Veterans diagnosed with PTSD.The study found significant differences, particularly concerning positive LGBTQ+ status and sex of record. There were significant differences found in age, marital status, and medical care usage, as well as pain, mental health, and substance use disorder diagnoses. Differences in having experienced military sexual trauma, crime or maltreatment were especially significant, with increased percentages among LGBTQ+ individuals, and sex of record females. In separate analyses, there were similar differences among transgender and non-transgender Veterans, with similar increased risks for sex of record females.Our findings suggest an intersectionality of LGBTQ+ status and sex of record in the context of PTSD. These findings may help guide future research, policy, and interventions.

    Keywords: Veterans, Sex of Record, PTSD - Posttraumatic stress disorder, LGBTQ+, comorbididites

    Received: 28 Aug 2024; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Workman, Gordon, Goulet, Brandt, Skanderson, O’Leary, Warren and Treitler-Zeng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Terri Elizabeth Workman, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.