Comparing negative health indicators in male and female veterans with the Canadian general population

Abstract

IntroductionSex-based information on differences between Canadian veterans and the general population is important to understand veterans’ unique health needs and identify areas requiring further research. This study compared various health indicators in male and female veterans with their Canadian counterparts.MethodsHealth indicators for recent-era Regular Force veterans (released between 1998 and 2015) were obtained from the 2016 Life After Service Survey and compared with the general population in the 2015–16 Canadian Community Health Survey using a cross-sectional approach. Age-adjusted rates and 95% CIs were calculated for males and females separately.ResultsCompared with Canadians, veterans (both sexes) reported higher prevalence of fair or poor health and mental health, needing help with one or more activity of daily living, lifetime suicidal ideation and being diagnosed with mood and anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, migraines, back problems, chronic pain, arthritis, ever having cancer, hearing problems, chronic pain and gastrointestinal problems. A higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease (all types) and high blood pressure was observed in male veterans compared with their Canadian counterparts. Within veterans only, males reported a higher prevalence of diagnosed hearing problems and cardiovascular disease compared with females; conversely females reported a higher prevalence of diagnosed migraines, mood, anxiety and gastrointestinal disorders, and needing help with activities of daily living. These sex differences are similar to the Canadian general population. Some similarities in reporting prevalence between male and female veterans (eg, fair or poor mental health, lifetime suicidal ideation, arthritis, asthma, lifetime cancer incidence, chronic pain and diabetes) were not observed in other Canadians.ConclusionMale and female veterans differed from comparable Canadians, and from each other, in various areas of health. Further research is needed to explore these findings, and veteran-based policies and services should consider sex differences.

Sex and gender: More than just demographic variables

“…Of those articles that did include race, ethnicity, or ethno-cultural identity, these important components of social identity were treated solely as demographic variables, without implementing GBA+ in the analysis. [10][11][12][13][14] Fourteen of the articles were based on data collected in projects with data collection ending in 2016, [10][11][12][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] and seven did not clearly indicate when their data were collected, [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] raising the question of whether GBA+ was considered when the projects were initially conceived and data collection occurred.…”

Women Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police: A scoping review

“…20 Women CAF Veterans have higher rates of gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory conditions, and chronic pain than men CAF Veterans, and they have arthritis, back problems, migraines, hearing problems, and cancer more often than women in the CGP. [23][24][25] RegF women Veterans have up to twice the risk of central nervous system conditions, and ResF Class C women Veterans have an approximately 10% higher risk of chronic pain and musculoskeletal conditions than their men counterparts. 13 Women CAF Veterans experience activity limitations and require assistance with activities of daily living more often than men Veterans, 8,13,[25][26][27] often due to pain.…”

“…[23][24][25] RegF women Veterans have up to twice the risk of central nervous system conditions, and ResF Class C women Veterans have an approximately 10% higher risk of chronic pain and musculoskeletal conditions than their men counterparts. 13 Women CAF Veterans experience activity limitations and require assistance with activities of daily living more often than men Veterans, 8,13,[25][26][27] often due to pain. 24 Women in the CGP also tend to need assistance more often than men, 28,29 which suggests disability, activity limitations, and needing assistance may be more common among all women.…”

“…26 They are more likely than men CAF Veterans, 30 still-serving women, 36 and women in the CGP to have depression, anxiety, or mood disorders, and they are more likely than women in the CGP to have PTSD. 25 No research was found about RCMP women and their mental health.…”

“…Women CAF members are more likely than their men counterparts, and women in the CGP, to have suicidal ideation and attempts. 37 Women CAF Veterans are more likely to have suicidal ideation than men CAF Veterans, 25,38 and they have an 80%-90% higher risk of suicide than women in the CGP, in comparison to a 40% higher risk for men Veterans compared with men in the CGP. [39][40][41][42] Strikingly, women who release as NCMs are more than 3 times more likely to die by suicide than women who release as officers.…”