Mortality patterns among women Vietnam-era veterans: results of a retrospective cohort study
- PMID: 18280922
- DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2007.11.009
Mortality patterns among women Vietnam-era veterans: results of a retrospective cohort study
Abstract
Purpose: This research compiled and analyzed the data of two cohorts of women veterans who either served in Vietnam ("Vietnam veteran" cohort, n = 4586) or served elsewhere during the Vietnam War ("non-Vietnam veteran" cohort, n = 5325). All cause and cause-specific mortality were compared between Vietnam and non-Vietnam veteran cohorts, to the U.S. population, and to earlier research. Similar analyses were performed for nurses only.
Methods: Vital status was determined through December 31, 2004, using primarily the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiary file and the Social Security Administration Death Master File. Selected data were submitted to the National Center for Health Statistics for merging with the National Death Index to obtain cause of death. Cox proportional hazard analysis modeling was used to obtain adjusted relative risks (ARR). SEER( *)Stat software was used to compute standardized mortality ratios (SMR) for comparisons to the U.S. population.
Results: Women Vietnam veterans showed a significant deficit (ARR = 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.62-0.98) in circulatory system disease relative to non-Vietnam veterans, but significant deficits also were observed when the Vietnam and non-Vietnam cohorts were each compared with women in the U.S. population (SMR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.54-0.77; SMR=0.82, 95% CI 0.73-0.93, respectively). Vietnam veterans had significantly lower mortality than women in the U.S. population for all causes (SMR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.80-0.94). Vietnam veterans were at significantly greater risk of mortality from motor vehicle accidents than non-Vietnam veterans (ARR = 2.60, 95% CI 1.22-5.55) and this appeared to be specific to service in Vietnam based on comparisons to the U.S. population. Patterns did not differ greatly for the analysis on nurse veterans or to earlier mortality studies of these cohorts.
Conclusion: Mortality from motor vehicle accidents was significantly associated with service in Vietnam. Mortality patterns generally resembled those reported on in the past.
Similar articles
-
HealthViEWS: mortality study of female US Vietnam era veterans, 1965-2010.Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Mar 15;179(6):721-30. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwt319. Epub 2014 Jan 30. Am J Epidemiol. 2014. PMID: 24488510
-
Mortality patterns of Army Chemical Corps veterans who were occupationally exposed to herbicides in Vietnam.Ann Epidemiol. 2010 May;20(5):339-46. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.02.003. Ann Epidemiol. 2010. PMID: 20382334
-
Treatment disparities for disabled medicare beneficiaries with stage I non-small cell lung cancer.Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008 Apr;89(4):595-601. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2007.09.042. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008. PMID: 18373987 Review.
-
Overall and cause-specific mortality in ulcerative colitis: meta-analysis of population-based inception cohort studies.Am J Gastroenterol. 2007 Mar;102(3):609-17. doi: 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2006.01000.x. Am J Gastroenterol. 2007. PMID: 17156150 Review.
-
Posttraumatic stress disorder and mortality among U.S. Army veterans 30 years after military service.Ann Epidemiol. 2006 Apr;16(4):248-56. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.03.009. Epub 2005 Aug 15. Ann Epidemiol. 2006. PMID: 16099672
Cited by
-
An Evidence Map of the Women Veterans' Health Research Literature (2008-2015).J Gen Intern Med. 2017 Dec;32(12):1359-1376. doi: 10.1007/s11606-017-4152-5. Epub 2017 Sep 14. J Gen Intern Med. 2017. PMID: 28913683 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Trajectories in Physical Activity and Sedentary Time Among Women Veterans in the Women's Health Initiative.Gerontologist. 2016 Feb;56 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S27-39. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv676. Gerontologist. 2016. PMID: 26768390 Free PMC article.
-
Military Generation and Its Relationship to Mortality in Women Veterans in the Women's Health Initiative.Gerontologist. 2016 Feb;56 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S126-37. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnv669. Gerontologist. 2016. PMID: 26768386 Free PMC article.
-
Prospective Analysis of Health and Mortality Risk in Veteran and Non-Veteran Participants in the Women's Health Initiative.Womens Health Issues. 2015 Nov-Dec;25(6):649-57. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2015.08.006. Epub 2015 Oct 1. Womens Health Issues. 2015. PMID: 26432346 Free PMC article.
-
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Health Outcomes Among Veteran and Non-Veteran Women.J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2015 Sep;24(9):723-9. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2014.4997. Epub 2015 Jun 3. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2015. PMID: 26390379 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Miscellaneous