VA, NIH to fund $7 million in substance abuse studies
Effort to focus on troops, veterans of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom
September 13, 2009
VA is collaborating with the National Institutes of Health to
fund $7 million in research on problems related to the use of
alcohol, tobacco and drugs—both prescription and illegal—among
U.S. military personnel who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"This is the first large-scale interagency effort on this topic,"
notes Theresa Gleason, PhD, a program manager with VA's Office
of Research and Development. She says the initiative grew out of
interagency meetings followed by a scientific conference held
earlier this year. "We realized we could do more as a group to
address these issues."
VA will partner with the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA), and the National Cancer Institute on the initiative. Each
agency will fund studies relevant to its particular mission. The
focus will be on identifying the causes of substance use and abuse
and improving screening, prevention and treatment.
A VA study appearing this month in the American Journal of
Public Health found that of nearly 290,000 Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans who were first seen in VA between 2002 and 2008, about
seven percent had alcohol use disorders. Three percent had drug
use disorders. Tobacco use was not addressed in the study, but
statistics show that VA treats nearly 500,000 veterans each year for
nicotine dependence. These issues often occur along with warrelated
problems such as traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic
stress disorder, pain, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances.
Overall, the impact on individuals and families can be huge.
"Working in collaboration with key federal agencies, we hope to
learn more about how to address the array of social and emotional
problems caused by the trauma of war that bring so much pain to
soldiers and their families," said NIDA Director Nora D. Volko,
MD, in a press statement. "Even though they are no longer in
combat, many of these brave men and women are now fighting
substance addiction—another dangerous enemy."
NIAAA acting director Kenneth Warren, PhD, added: "The
transition period as soldiers withdraw from battlefield stress and
face the rigors of readjusting to life at home can be a critical
turning point. This partnership will enhance our efforts to find
solutions to the complex alcohol and substance abuse problems
that plague our soldiers and their families."
VA and NIH officials estimate that about 20 studies will be
funded through the initiative.
This article originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of VA Research Currents.