PTSD and Physical Illness

PTSD can have a devastating effect on physical integrity and general health. No group of Vietnam veterans is more susceptible to physical illness than American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. Native American veterans surveyed in the MVVP reported an average of two to three chronic illnesses, including heart or lung disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and severe skin, eye, or gastrointestinal conditions (twice the rate for all other ethnocultural groups of Vietnam veterans). Native veterans who also suffered from PTSD complained of symptoms of even more chronic physical illnesses. They often experienced so many debilitating physical problems that their bodies seemed to be completely breaking down. It is possible that PTSD creates a chronic state of physical and emotional tension and exhaustion, thus setting the stage for physical illness.

A combination of PTSD and chronic health problems is the key factor in leading American Indian and Alaska Native veterans to seek VA outpatient medical care. This group seeks care approximately five times as often as other Vietnam veterans.

A combination of PTSD and chronic physical illness also predicts especially high levels of medical disability among American Indian and Alaska Native veterans. The Native Vietnam veterans who were considered disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the time of the MVVP study had an overall disability evaluation due to PTSD and physical illness of almost 50%, compared to a 25-30% average level for all other Vietnam veterans.