BVA decisions by condition
Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood: BVA grant rates and what wins
From 2017 to 2026, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided a adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood issue in 762 decisions. It granted the adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood issue in 36.9% of them, above the 19.4% grant rate for all conditions, denied it in 31.0%, and remanded it in 31.1%. Counting only decisions on the merits (granted or denied), 54.4% were granted.
Decisions
762
2017–2026
Granted
36.9%
All conditions: 19.4%
Granted on the merits
54.4%
Granted ÷ (granted + denied)
Remanded
31.1%
Denied: 31.0%
Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood outcomes by year
| Year | Issues decided | Granted | Denied | Remanded | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 72 | 31.9% | 33.3% | 34.7% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 66 | 28.8% | 40.9% | 25.8% | 4.5% |
| 2022 | 78 | 37.2% | 29.5% | 29.5% | 3.8% |
| 2023 | 106 | 36.8% | 24.5% | 37.7% | 0.9% |
| 2024 | 123 | 43.1% | 24.4% | 30.1% | 2.4% |
| 2025 | 196 | 37.8% | 32.1% | 26.0% | 4.1% |
| 2026 | 65 | 49.2% | 32.3% | 16.9% | 1.5% |
Each row counts issues (each condition the Board decided), so the shares add up to 100%. Other: dismissed, withdrawn or no clear outcome. Years with fewer than 50 issues are left out.
Evidence in granted and denied adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood decisions
For each kind of supporting evidence: how often the Board granted the adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood issue on the merits when the decision mentioned it, compared with decisions that did not. These are associations, not causes, and evidence is recorded per decision, not per issue.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive nexus opinion | 185 | 83.2% | 41.3% | +41.9 pts |
| Favorable VA exam | 135 | 82.2% | 46.1% | +36.1 pts |
| Claimed as secondary | 159 | 74.4% | 50.1% | +24.3 pts |
| Private medical opinion | 292 | 65.8% | 45.1% | +20.7 pts |
| Treating physician opinion | 50 | 65.0% | 53.5% | +11.5 pts |
| Combat service | 61 | 63.0% | 53.5% | +9.5 pts |
| Lay statement | 674 | 53.7% | 61.9% | −8.2 pts |
- The Board applied the benefit-of-the-doubt rule (38 CFR 3.102) in 77.2% of the decisions that granted adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood.
- The Board found the veteran's statements credible in 30.2% of grants and 10.6% of denials.
Negative evidence in the record
An unfavorable exam or a negative nexus opinion often sits in the same record as favorable evidence, and the Board weighs them against each other. So these rows show how often adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood was still granted when the record contained the negative item, not that the item helped.
| In the record | Decisions | Granted when present | When absent | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative nexus opinion | 394 | 52.7% | 55.8% | −3.2 pts |
| Unfavorable VA exam | 655 | 51.0% | 80.0% | −29.0 pts |
Why the Board granted or denied adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood
Most common reasons in grants
- Current diagnosis established25
- Caused by the service-connected disability16
- Aggravated by the service-connected disability4
- Symptoms align with 70% rating criteria3
- Symptoms met criteria for 70% rating3
- Symptoms meet criteria for 70% rating3
- Service connection established2
- Veteran diagnosed with adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood2
Most common reasons in denials
- VA examiner: less likely than not related to service33
- No in-service complaints, treatment or diagnosis15
- Service records negative or silent13
- Preponderance of the evidence against the claim12
- Current diagnosis established8
- Symptoms did not meet criteria for 70% rating7
- Symptoms did not meet criteria for 100% rating5
- No current diagnosis5
Numbers are decisions that gave the reason. Reasons are short phrases extracted by AI from each decision; common wordings of the same reason are grouped. Benefit of the doubt is reported above.
Recent adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood decisions
Granted
Symptoms meet criteria for 70% rating; Resolving doubt in veteran's favor; Occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas
Service connection granted effective December 9, 2021.; VA examiner found positive nexus to service.; Veteran's lay testimony found credible and competent.
Favorable private medical opinion linking psychiatric disability to tinnitus/hearing loss; Favorable VA examiner opinion linking psychiatric disability to tinnitus; Evidence in equipoise, benefit of doubt applied
Denied
Symptoms more closely approximated criteria for 50% rating; Flattened affect, disturbances in motivation and mood, difficulty with social/work relationships noted; Intact judgment, insight, cognition; no current suicidal ideation
No evidence of symptomatology approximating total occupational and social impairment; Evidence persuasively weighs against finding of total occupational and social impairment
TDIU granted based on combined psychiatric and knee disabilities.; Psychiatric disorder symptoms consistent with 70% rating.; No evidence supports total occupational and social impairment for 100% rating.
Rules that apply to adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood claims
- 38 CFR 3.303
Principles of service connection
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.310
Secondary service connection and aggravation
Read it in VA Law Explorer - 38 CFR 3.102
Reasonable doubt (benefit of the doubt)
Read it in VA Law Explorer
Research your adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood case
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How these numbers are calculated
- Rates count decisions in which the Board decided a adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood issue, by the outcome of that issue. Other issues in the same decision can have different outcomes.
- “Granted on the merits” leaves out remands and dismissals. “All conditions” is the grant share across every condition issue in the data.
- The data comes from CaseScribe's AI extraction of public BVA decisions (2017–2026) and can contain errors. It is updated automatically as new decisions are added.