Alcohol use and craving among Veterans with mental health disorders and mild traumatic brain injury

1
Alcohol use and craving among Veterans with
mental health disordersand mild traumatic brain
injury

• Amy A. Herrold, PhD Neil Jordan, PhD Walter M.
  High, PhD Judi Babcock-Parziale, PhD R. Andrew
  Chambers, MD Bridget Smith, PhD Charlesnika T.
  Evans, PhD Xue Li, PhD Trudy Mallinson, PhD,
  OTR/L, FAOTA Shonna Jenkins, MS Theresa
  Louise-Bender Pape, DrPH, MA, CCCSLP/L

2

• Aim
• Describe alcohol craving in convenience sample of
  Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, including those
  exposed to traumatic events and experiencing
  active symptoms.
• Relevance
• Alcohol craving negatively affects
  rehabilitation, but no studies have examined it
  among Veterans with co-occurring mental health
  disorders (MHDs) and mild traumatic brain injury
  (mTBI).

3
Method

• 48 Veterans completed weekly telephone
  interviews
• Week 1 Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test,
  consumption questions (AUDIT-C).
• Weeks 16 Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS).

4
Results

• 60 screened positive on AUDIT-C for probable
  alcohol use disorder.
• PACS scores
• Higher among AUDIT-C positive Veterans (vs
  AUDIT-C negative).
• Higher among AUDIT-C positive Veterans with MHDs
  with and without mTBI (vs AUDIT-C positive combat
  comparison group)

5
Conclusion

• Rates of hazardous alcohol use are high among
  Iraq and Afghanistan conflict Veterans.
• Suggests that alcohol craving is elevated among
  those with MHDs with and without mTBI.