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Gender Differences in Demographic and Health Characteristics of the Million Veteran Program Cohort
- Source :
- Womens Health Issues
- Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Background The Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program (MVP) is the largest ongoing cohort program of its kind, with 654,903 enrollees as of June 2018. The objectives of this study were to examine gender differences in the MVP cohort with respect to response and enrollment rates; demographic, health, and health care characteristics; and prevalence of self-reported health conditions. Methods The MVP Baseline Survey was completed by 415,694 veterans (8% women), providing self-report measures of demographic characteristics, health status, and medical history. Results Relative to men, women demonstrated a higher positive responder rate (23.0% vs. 16.0%), slightly higher enrollment rate (13.5% vs. 12.9%), and, among enrollees, a lower survey completion rate (59.7% vs. 63.8%). Women were younger, more racially diverse, had higher educational attainment, and were less likely to be married or cohabitating with a partner than men. Women were more likely to report good to excellent health status but poorer physical fitness, and less likely to report lifetime smoking and drinking than men. Compared with men, women veterans showed an increased prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions, thyroid problems, gastrointestinal conditions, migraine headaches, and mental health disorders, as well as a decreased prevalence of gout, cardiovascular diseases, high cholesterol, diabetes, and hearing problems. Conclusions These results revealed some substantial gender differences in the research participation rates, demographic profile, health characteristics, and prevalence of health conditions for veterans in the MVP cohort. Findings highlight the need for tailoring recruitment efforts to ensure representation of the increasing women veteran population receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Health (social science)
Health Status
Migraine Disorders
Physical fitness
Population
Veterans Health
Demographic profile
Article
Cohort Studies
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Maternity and Midwifery
Health care
Prevalence
Medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Musculoskeletal Diseases
Sex Distribution
education
Veterans Affairs
Aged
Veterans
education.field_of_study
business.industry
030503 health policy & services
Mental Disorders
Smoking
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Middle Aged
Mental health
humanities
United States
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Cardiovascular Diseases
Physical Fitness
Cohort
Female
0305 other medical science
business
Demography
Cohort study
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18784321
- Volume :
- 29
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....d2e6894983ad0b116ae577ba6ad64083