Newswise — NYU Langone Medical Center announced that Charles R. Marmar, MD, the Lucius N. Littauer Professor of Psychiatry and chair of the Department of Psychiatry, was selected to lead the clinical evaluation component of a national survey — the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study (NVVLS) — on the long-term effects of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other related health conditions on Vietnam veterans.
The three-year NVVLS is being directed by William Schlenger, PhD, a nationally recognized expert in behavioral health and a principal scientist at Abt Associates, a leading global health and social policy research and international development firm. Abt was recently awarded $6.7 million in funding by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct the research. As part of that funding, Abt has provided $1.6 million to NYU Langone Medical Center to lead the clinical evaluation component of the study.
NVVLS will serve as a follow-up to a landmark investigation conducted nearly 25 years ago called the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS), for which Dr. Marmar was a member of the study’s research team. The NVVLS provides an unparalleled opportunity to determine if war-zone related PTSD could potentially lead to physical problems such as hypertension, adult onset diabetes, high cholesterol, premature morbidity or death due to cardiovascular complications, as well as the risk for early onset dementia. Experts also believe complementing NVVRS findings with new information from the NVVLS will provide valuable insights into the long-term readjustment needs of U.S. veterans, and the psychological impact on the spouses, partners and children of war-zone deployed veterans.
The timing for the follow-up investigation is critical. “It is imperative that VA clinicians and health service delivery planners have information about the veterans who participated in the original study to identify needs for future health and mental health services for aging Vietnam veterans,” said Dr. Marmar. “Additionally, the survey findings will be especially important for helping us to better understand the long-term mental and physical impact on the health of service members diagnosed with war-zone related PTSD and to better plan the readjustment needs for those currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
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