Identification of Contributing Factors to Alcohol Abuse in Korean and Vietnam War Veterans

Background: It is known that alcohol use is prevalent among American military personnel. There is little research on whether or not alcohol abuse in the military today can also be applied to Korean and Vietnam era war veterans. Objective: This study aims to discover if risk factors for alcohol abuse patterns from Korean and Vietnam War veterans match a more recent predictive model for veteran alcohol abuse. Method: A Retrospective descriptive study, using existing medical record data, drawn from a total record set of 400 veterans, 59 of which met inclusion criteria for alcohol abuse. Cases were then drawn that had both alcohol abuse diagnostic codes and a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) code, resulting in 13 of 59 cases meeting inclusion criteria for the model. Results: Of the 13 men who had an inclusion diagnostic code for alcohol abuse and a diagnostic code (309.81) for PTSD, eight also had a diagnostic code (311), for depression. Retrospectively this theoretical model seems to fit Veterans from the Korean and Vietnam War era