A retrospective cohort study of U.S. service members returning from Afghanistan and Iraq: is physical health worsening over time?

• Published in: BMC Public Health
• Main Authors: Falvo Michael J, Serrador Jorge M, McAndrew Lisa M, Chandler Helena K, Lu Shou-En, Quigley Karen S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2012-12-01
• Subjects: Veterans; Military personnel; Veterans health; Quality of life; Operation enduring freedom; Operation iraqi freedom; Health surveys
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/1124

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High rates of mental health disorders have been reported in veterans returning from deployment to Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom: OEF) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom: OIF); however, less is known about physical health functioning and its temporal course post-deployment. Therefore, our goal is to study physical health functioning in OEF/OIF veterans after deployment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed self-reported physical health functioning as physical component summary (PCS) scores on the Veterans version of the Short Form 36 health survey in 679 OEF/OIF veterans clinically evaluated at a post-deployment health clinic. Veterans were stratified into four groups based on time post-deployment: (1Yr) 0 – 365 days; (2Yr) 366 – 730 days; (3Yr) 731 – 1095 days; and (4Yr+) > 1095 days. To assess the possibility that our effect was specific to a treatment-seeking sample, we also analyzed PCS scores from a separate military community sample of 768 OEF/OIF veterans evaluated pre-deployment and up to one-year post-deployment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In veterans evaluated at our clinic, we observed significantly lower PCS scores as time post-deployment increased (p = 0.018) after adjusting for probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We similarly observed in our community sample that PCS scores were lower both immediately after and one year after return from deployment (p < 0.001) relative to pre-deployment PCS. Further, PCS scores obtained 1-year post-deployment were significantly lower than scores obtained immediately post-deployment (p = 0.02).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In our clinical sample, the longer the duration between return from deployment and their visit to our clinic, the worse the Veteran’s physical health even after adjusting for PTSD. Additionally, a decline is also present in a military community sample of OEF/OIF veterans. These data suggest that, as time since deployment length increases, physical health may deteriorate for some veterans.</p>