Racial Health Disparities in a Cohort of 5,135 Transgender Veterans

Objective There are no large-scale studies of racial health disparities in transgender patients. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest health-care system in the United States and was an early adopter of electronic health records. We present new data on medical and mental health disparities in a large population of transgender veterans. Method Using four ICD-9-CM codes, we identified a cohort of transgender veterans who presented for VHA care from1996–2013. A total of 5,135 transgender veterans were identified, 387 were non-Hispanic Black and 4,120 were non-Hispanic White. These two groups were compared to determine if medical and/or mental health disparities existed. Results Black transgender veterans had increased odds to be diagnosed with alcohol abuse (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.86, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.50–2.31, p