Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders among Women Veterans with Diabetes

ObjectivesWe sought to estimate the prevalence of mental illness (MI) and substance use disorders (SUD) and determine the predictors of MI/SUD categories among veteran women with diabetes.MethodsWe evaluated a cross-sectional analysis of 16,368 women veterans with diabetes in fiscal 1999 and 2000. SUD, MI, and diabetes were identified using validated algorithms based on diagnosis codes. Chi-square and multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine associations between SUD, MI, demographic, socioeconomic, and health status variables.ResultsOverall, 45% of women had a MI, SUD, or both. SUD rates were high among those with serious MI. The associations between MI/SUD and independent variables were not uniformly significant, except for macrovascular conditions; women veterans were more likely to have combinations of MI/SUD.ConclusionA high rate of MI/SUD suggests that care for mental and physical illness needs to be integrated into health care planning and delivery of services to veteran women with diabetes.