Affiliations: Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital, Braintree, MA,
USA | VA Boston Healthcare System, West Roxbury, MA,
USA | Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA | Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, MA,
USA | Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center, Boston, MA,
USA | Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of
Medicine, Medford, MA, USA | Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Pradeep Suri, 1400 VFW Parkway,
PMR Service, MC 117, West Roxbury, MA 01232, USA. E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between clinical and
demographic factors with employment status in post-deployment US military
veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. PARTICIPANTS: 169 OIF/OEF veterans seen at a post-deployment clinic
between December of 2009 and May of 2010. METHODS: Data was collected retrospectively on employment status,
age, marital status, gender, pre-deployment education, ratings of sleep
disturbance, pain, and depression, and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or
PTSD diagnosis. RESULTS: Unemployment was highly prevalent in this sample (45%). Of
the demographic and clinical factors examined, only a self-report of global
depression severity was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of
unemployment in multivariate analysis (odds ratio [OR] 0.21, 95% confidence
interval [CI] 0.10–0.47). Age greater than 40 demonstrated a positive
association with employment status that was of borderline statistical
significance ([OR] 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0–8.1). Prior
diagnoses of mTBI or PTSD, and current sleep or pain symptoms, were not
associated with employment status. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with more severe self-reported depression
had a higher prevalence of unemployment. Future prospective studies are needed
to better understand which factors determine employment status in returning veterans.
