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Nearly one third of the entire Veterans' Affairs (VA) budget is allocated to veterans' disabilities; about 650,000 veterans receive disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a previous study, nearly a quarter of applicants for PTSD disability benefits reported manic and/or psychotic symptoms. To ascertain the impairment burden of similar veterans, investigators studied VA records of 2580 veterans (59% women) who had applied for VA benefits for PTSD between 1994 and 1998.
Participants had been on active duty during or after the Vietnam conflict. About 90% of men but fewer than 25% of women had served during the Vietnam era. Persistent serious mental illness (PSMI) was defined as diagnoses for schizophrenia, schizoaffec…