Health Risk Behaviors of Afghanistan and Iraq War Veterans Attending College

Abstract

Purpose The population military veterans attending college is rapidly growing as veterans return from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). We sought to describe patterns of student veterans’ health-related behaviors and how they might differ from their non-veteran peers. Design We analyzed data from the 2008 Boynton College Student Health Survey (CSHS). Setting CSHS participants completed an anonymous online survey. Subjects The CSHS sampled students (n=8,651) attending public, private, two-, and four-year postsecondary educational institutions in Minnesota. Measures The CSHS included items on substance use (including alcohol and tobacco), safety, nutrition, and physical activity. Analysis We described demographics of OEF/OIF veteran, non-OEF/OIF veteran, and non-veteran students and used poisson regression to compute adjusted relative risks (ARR) with 95% confidence intervals to characterize associations between veteran status and health behaviors. Results After controlling for demographics, veteran students reported more safety-, tobacco-, and alcohol-related risk behaviors compared to non-veteran students. For instance, compared to the non-veteran reference group, the ARR for past year smokeless tobacco use and physical fighting among for OEF/OIF veterans was 1.76 [CI: 1.31–2.35] and 1.48 [CI: 1.22–1.79] respectively. Veteran and non-veteran students display similar weight-related behaviors, though OEF/OIF veteran students were more likely to engage in strengthening exercises. Conclusions There are specific health risk behaviors which are particularly relevant for veterans attending postsecondary institutions. As veterans enroll in postsecondary education there is a unique window of opportunity for health promotion in this population.

Mental health and somatic symptom severity are associated with reduced physical activity among US Iraq and Afghanistan veterans

“…The IPAQ-short was used in the present study because data were collected as part of a routine clinical screening assessment and brevity was a priority; this may have resulted in underestimation of physical activity in this group. For example, Widome et al (2011) found that Iraq/Afghanistan veteran college students engaged in more strength training and comparable rates of other weight management behaviors when compared with college students without a military background; strength training was not specifically assessed in the present study. Lastly, the strength of associations between physical activity and severity of somatic and depressive symptoms is relatively weak, suggesting that there are other unmeasured physical activity correlates and indicating a need for further research in this area.…”

Weight-related Disparities for Transgender College Students

“…The amount of time a participant spent per day watching television and using a computer for something that was not for work or school work, was used to assess screen time. 33 Categories of ≥14 hours/week vs. <14 hours/week were created for screen time in line with recommendations for young people of less than two hours per day. 34 Unhealthy weight control behaviors, which included taking diet pills, vomiting, or taking laxatives and was categorized as any vs. none.…”

Overcoming barriers to care for returning Veterans: Expanding services to college campuses

“…Of the student Veterans surveyed, a significant number endorsed experiencing anxiety (35%), depression (24%), and PTSD symptoms (46%). Student Veterans have also been found to engage in increased health risk behaviors; a recent survey of 8,651 students found that student Veterans endorsed more safety-, tobacco-, and alcohol-related risk behaviors than civilian students [16]. Recent epidemiologic data support the preventative value of access to care, reporting that male Veterans under 30 who access VHA healthcare services are less likely to complete suicide than Veterans who do not utilize VHA care [17].…”