Health Effects of Military Service on Women Veterans

Women Veterans are among the fastest growing groups of new VA health care users of the VA healthcare system, and currently reflect approximately eight percent of all U.S. Veterans. With Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF), women comprise a larger percentage of the military (11.3 percent) than of prior military operations. As of fiscal year 2010, 51.3 percent of female OEF/OIF Veterans had enrolled in VA health care, in sharp contrast to women from previous eras (an estimated 11 percent). Of this group, 88 percent have used VA health care more than once. To better understand the needs of this rapidly growing group, women Veterans' health research has expanded as well. Two previous systematic reviews examined the literature on women Veterans' health and health care up to 2008. In this review, we specifically explored women Veterans' post-deployment health, with two main areas of concentration: 1) post-deployment effects on reproductive health for women Veterans, and 2) post-trauma sequelae among women Veterans from the OEF/OIF cohort. In response to a growing need to understand the effects of military service on health status, this report supplements our prior review by focusing directly on the reproductive and trauma effects on women in the military or Veterans who have been deployed. The goal is to broaden the knowledge of VA policy leaders and clinicians about post-deployment health issues for women. The Key Questions were: Key Question #1: What research has been published on the effects of deployment on postdeployment reproductive outcomes? We operationalized "reproductive effects" to encompass the following: fertility issues, birth defects, menstrual effects (e.g., change in cycles, loss of cycles), urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted infections, and reproductive cancers (e.g., cervical, ovarian, etc). Key Question #2: What research has been published on post-trauma sequelae in OEF/OIF women Veterans, including: mental health problems, suicide, cardiovascular disease, risky health behaviors (including: tobacco use, hazardous alcohol use, substance abuse, suicide, homicide, assaultive behavior, and eating disorders), and other post-trauma sequelae?