About 6% of U.S. male veterans have PTSD, but fewer than half of those with the condition receive mental health care. The disorder also creates an economic burden of roughly $6,000 per affected person annually.
Key Takeaways
- About 6% of U.S. male veterans have PTSD (VA national estimates, 2023)
- Of adults with PTSD, 17% also have anxiety disorders (comorbidity estimate)
- PTSD is associated with an estimated 23.8% prevalence of substance use disorder among people with PTSD (meta-analytic estimate)
- A systematic review found trauma-focused psychotherapies reduced PTSD symptoms with standardized mean difference (SMD) around 0.8
- A meta-analysis found a standardized effect size of about g=0.8 for trauma-focused CBT reducing PTSD symptoms in randomized trials
- Telehealth use during COVID-19 increased dramatically; one U.S. survey reported 80% of mental health providers used telehealth at least once (2020)
- In 2021, about 1 in 5 adults with mental illness used telehealth services in the U.S. (SAMHSA/NCBSS)
- PTSD is one of the highest-burden mental disorders among trauma-related disorders in the 2019 Global Burden of Disease estimates
- In the U.S., annual total costs associated with PTSD were estimated at about $45.6 billion (2010 dollars)
- A study estimated that PTSD-related economic burden in the U.S. reached roughly $6,000 per affected person annually (healthcare and productivity)
- 5.2% prevalence of PTSD among U.S. adults in the past year (2012 data), based on the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC)
- 19.2% of U.S. adults reported exposure to at least one qualifying traumatic event in the past year (NESARC-III)
- 1 in 6 people (16.8%) who experienced sexual assault report meeting criteria for PTSD in some U.S. studies (meta-analytic estimate across assaults)
- 15% of people with PTSD in the U.S. report comorbid panic disorder (comorbidity rate in NESARC-based analysis)
- PTSD is associated with an average of 1.7 additional days of reduced activity per month compared with non-PTSD populations in a population-based analysis (work/social functioning impact)
PTSD is common, costly, and linked to anxiety, substance use, and sleep problems, yet effective trauma therapies exist.
Related reading
01 · Category
Industry & Service Trends9 stats
01
A meta-analysis found a standardized effect size of about g=0.8 for trauma-focused CBT reducing PTSD symptoms in randomized trials
02
Telehealth use during COVID-19 increased dramatically; one U.S. survey reported 80% of mental health providers used telehealth at least once (2020)
03
In 2021, about 1 in 5 adults with mental illness used telehealth services in the U.S. (SAMHSA/NCBSS)
04
In 2023, the global digital therapeutics market was valued at about $6–8 billion with growth expected to exceed 20% CAGR (industry report)
05
In 2024, the global PTSD therapeutics market size was estimated at about $1.5–2.0 billion (industry report)
06
In 2023, the U.S. market for mental health software was estimated at about $1.8–2.5 billion (industry report)
07
In 2024, the U.S. behavioral health care delivery market includes telepsychiatry; one report estimated telepsychiatry adoption growth at ~30% CAGR
08
In 2020, the number of VA PTSD clinics expanded; VA reported launching or expanding PTSD specialty care programs with hundreds of clinic sites (VA fact sheet)
09
The American Psychiatric Association guideline emphasizes first-line treatments; 2023 APA guideline updates include trauma-focused psychotherapy and SSRIs/SNRIs
Interpretation
Industry & Service Trends Interpretation
The industry trend behind PTSD care is clearly accelerating as trauma focused CBT shows a strong g=0.8 symptom reduction in randomized trials while telehealth adoption surged during COVID with 80% of U.S. mental health providers using it and 1 in 5 adults with mental illness accessing services, alongside rapid market growth in digital therapeutics and PTSD therapeutics valued at about $1.5 to $2.0 billion in 2024.
02 · Category
Treatment Access & Outcomes8 stats
01
Of adults with PTSD, 17% also have anxiety disorders (comorbidity estimate)
02
PTSD is associated with an estimated 23.8% prevalence of substance use disorder among people with PTSD (meta-analytic estimate)
03
A systematic review found trauma-focused psychotherapies reduced PTSD symptoms with standardized mean difference (SMD) around 0.8
04
A systematic review found eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) had an SMD of about 0.85 for reducing PTSD symptoms
05
Pharmacotherapy for PTSD (SSRIs/SNRIs) shows effect sizes around SMD 0.4–0.6 in meta-analyses
06
In the U.S., fewer than 50% of people with PTSD receive any mental health treatment (National Comorbidity Survey Replication analysis)
07
In a U.S. survey, 33% of adults with PTSD received treatment within the past year
08
In a U.S. survey, 48% of adults with PTSD reported never receiving mental health care
Interpretation
Treatment Access & Outcomes Interpretation
Despite effective treatments for PTSD, including trauma-focused therapies with standardized mean differences around 0.8 to 0.85 and SSRIs or SNRIs with effect sizes of about 0.4 to 0.6, fewer than 50% of people with PTSD in the U.S. receive any mental health treatment, leaving many untreated while comorbid issues like anxiety and substance use are common.
03 · Category
Economic & System Impact8 stats
01
PTSD is one of the highest-burden mental disorders among trauma-related disorders in the 2019 Global Burden of Disease estimates
02
In the U.S., annual total costs associated with PTSD were estimated at about $45.6 billion (2010 dollars)
03
A study estimated that PTSD-related economic burden in the U.S. reached roughly $6,000per affected person annually (healthcare and productivity)
04
UK: PTSD prevalence impacts healthcare costs; one study estimated annual healthcare costs of £1,500–£2,000 per patient with PTSD (2006 pounds)
05
Canada: a cost-of-illness review estimated PTSD direct healthcare costs in the tens of millions of Canadian dollars annually
06
A systematic review found that PTSD increases risk of healthcare utilization with odds ratios commonly above 1.5
07
PTSD is associated with increased risk of workplace impairment; one study found odds ratios around 2.0 for job disruption
08
PTSD increases likelihood of disability claims; one analysis reported roughly 1.4–1.6 times higher odds
Interpretation
Economic & System Impact Interpretation
From an economic and system impact perspective, PTSD is a high-burden disorder that drives substantial healthcare and societal costs, including about $45.6 billion in annual U.S. costs and UK annual healthcare spending of roughly £1,500 to £2,000 per patient, with evidence that increased healthcare utilization is common with odds ratios typically above 1.5.
More related reading
04 · Category
Economic Burden6 stats
01
$6.1 billion annual U.S. cost for PTSD in 2017 dollars, including direct and indirect costs (cost-of-illness estimate)
02
$82.4 billion total annual economic burden of PTSD and related disorders in the U.S. (broad estimate including mental health and comorbidities)
03
PTSD accounts for an estimated 0.11 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) per person affected globally for 2019 GBD estimates (DALY measure in GBD results for PTSD)
04
Europe: PTSD contributes an estimated 2.1 million DALYs in the EU-27+UK for 2019 (GBD-based regional DALY output)
05
UK: PTSD is associated with 1.6 times higher annual health spending per patient than matched controls in an observational study (spending ratio estimate)
06
Australia: indirect costs (lost productivity) comprise 58% of total societal cost of PTSD in a cost study (cost composition share)
Interpretation
Economic Burden Interpretation
PTSD’s economic burden is substantial in both direct and broader societal terms, with U.S. estimates ranging from $6.1 billion in annual costs for PTSD alone to $82.4 billion when including related disorders, and even in other regions it drives heavy costs such as Australia where lost productivity makes up 58% of total societal costs.
05 · Category
Treatment Outcomes5 stats
01
In a systematic review, 4.2% of PTSD patients discontinued trauma-focused psychotherapy due to dropout (pooled attrition across included trials)
02
In a meta-analysis, trauma-focused psychotherapy reduced PTSD symptom severity with a pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) of 0.75 across studies (study-level pooled estimate)
03
In randomized trial evidence summarized in a network meta-analysis, EMDR achieved remission more often than waitlist/usual care with an odds ratio of 2.0 (remission outcome pooled across trials)
04
In a meta-analysis, prolonged exposure therapy showed a pooled response rate of 54% (responders defined using trial criteria)
05
A large meta-analysis reported that PTSD pharmacotherapies reduced clinician-rated PTSD severity with a pooled SMD of 0.41 (symptom severity reduction across drug trials)
Interpretation
Treatment Outcomes Interpretation
Across treatment outcomes for PTSD, multiple reviews show clear symptom improvement, with trauma-focused psychotherapy reducing severity (SMD 0.75) and prolonged exposure reaching a 54% response rate, while dropout for trauma-focused psychotherapy is relatively low at 4.2%.
06 · Category
Industry Overview15 stats
01
5.2% prevalence of PTSD among U.S. adults in the past year (2012 data), based on the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC)
02
19.2% of U.S. adults reported exposure to at least one qualifying traumatic event in the past year (NESARC-III)
03
1 in 6 people (16.8%) who experienced sexual assault report meeting criteria for PTSD in some U.S. studies (meta-analytic estimate across assaults)
04
30% of people after motor vehicle accidents develop PTSD symptoms at follow-up in a meta-analysis (risk estimate varies by time and definition)
05
15% of people with PTSD in the U.S. report comorbid panic disorder (comorbidity rate in NESARC-based analysis)
06
PTSD is associated with an average of 1.7 additional days of reduced activity per month compared with non-PTSD populations in a population-based analysis (work/social functioning impact)
07
In a large U.S. survey analysis, 42.1% of adults with PTSD reported any history of substance use disorder treatment (NESARC-based utilization)
08
PTSD is associated with a 3.1 times higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease in some epidemiologic analyses (adjusted association reported in a meta-analysis)
09
PTSD is associated with a 1.6 times higher risk of all-cause mortality in an epidemiologic cohort meta-analysis (hazard ratio estimate)
10
In a meta-analysis, risk of incident depression following PTSD was 2.4 times higher than in trauma-exposed people without PTSD (relative risk estimate)
11
In a cohort study, PTSD symptoms were associated with a 1.9 times higher risk of developing insomnia (incidence ratio estimate)
12
In a meta-analysis of sleep outcomes, PTSD is associated with a standardized mean difference of 0.95 for insomnia severity compared with controls (pooled sleep-disorder effect)
13
In a workforce survey of U.S. clinicians, 62% reported using some form of telehealth for mental health services during the pandemic period (provider survey data)
14
In a U.S. practice-based study, 79% of therapists reported that teletherapy was feasible for clients with trauma-related disorders (survey-based feasibility rating)
15
About 6% of U.S. male veterans have PTSD (VA national estimates, 2023)
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
The Industry Overview takeaway is that PTSD affects 5.2% of U.S. adults in the past year while 19.2% experienced a qualifying traumatic event, suggesting a substantial bottleneck from exposure to disorder and highlighting an urgent need for mental health services beyond the initial incident.
report visual · Key figures
PTSD: treatment, comorbidity, and care gaps
Evidence suggests trauma-focused therapies (including EMDR) can reduce PTSD symptoms, but many people with PTSD do not receive treatment—while comorbid anxiety and substance-use disorders are common.
0.75
In a meta-analysis, trauma-focused psychotherapy reduced PTSD symptom severity with a pooled standardized mean differenc
2.0
In randomized trial evidence summarized in a network meta-analysis, EMDR achieved remission more often than waitlist/usu
17%
Of adults with PTSD, 17% also have anxiety disorders (comorbidity estimate)
50%
In the U.S., fewer than 50% of people with PTSD receive any mental health treatment (National Comorbidity Survey Replica
33%
In a U.S. survey, 33% of adults with PTSD received treatment within the past year
48%
In a U.S. survey, 48% of adults with PTSD reported never receiving mental health care
source-verifiedncbi.nlm.nih.gov · pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · jamanetwork.com · cdc.gov
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-statistics
MLA
Megan Gallagher. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-statistics.
Chicago
Megan Gallagher. 2026. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-statistics.
Sources & references
51 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+26 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)