Musculoskeletal Related Disability in Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan

Abstract

Purpose: Over 60% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans access Veterans Administration (VA) health care after military service. The purpose of this research is to describe the types of musculoskeletal service-connected disabilities distributed among these veterans.Methods: A retrospective cohort of 383,757 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were searched for service-connected disability determinations using the Veterans Services Network Corporate Master File (VETSNET). Service-connected disabilities were grouped according to the types of diagnoses represented.Results: Of 383,757 included veterans, 347,643 (90.6%) had at least one musculoskeletal-related service-connected disability. The most common group of musculoskeletal disabilities was conditions of the spine, affecting 241, 636 (69.5%) veterans, limitations in the knee/leg motion (46.6%) and acute and chronic disorders (30.2%). The median number of musculoskeletal conditions contributing to the service connected disability per veteran was 2.8 ± 1.3 conditions. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was the most common primary service connected disability for both men and women.Discussion: Musculoskeletal conditions as a source of service connected disability affects 90% of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. While the primary source of service connected disability is most often not musculoskeletal related, the overall burden of musculoskeletal conditions is very high with an average of 2.8 musculoskeletal conditions per veteran contributing to their disability.