LOS ANGELES—While post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans previously has been linked to heart disease, the cohorts used in those studies were overwhelmingly mail. Now, a new study took a close look at PTSD’s effect on heart health in women veterans—and the news...
Why Do Women Veterans Report More Symptoms Following Mild TBI?
WASHINGTON—Following a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion, female veterans report more neurobehavioral symptoms, use more outpatient services and are more often diagnosed with depression than their male counterparts, according to a recent VA study.1 But why?...
Advocates Square Off Against VA on Women’s Veterans Task Force’s Role
WASHINGTON—It’s been nearly six months since the House VA Committee launched its bipartisan Women Veterans Task Force, and the result is a legislative docket filled with bills geared toward ensuring VA has the resources it needs to care for the growing number of...
Women, Chronically Ill Veterans Value Veterans Choice Access Most
HINES, IL—Women and veterans with multiple comorbidities used and valued the Veterans Choice Program (VCP) more than other veterans, according to recent research by the VA.1 To help these veterans and others, the VA has taken steps under the MISSION Act to improve...
Menopausal Symptoms Increase Long-Term Opioid Use Risk
Unrecognized by many in healthcare is that the greatest increases in long-term opioid use and opioid-related overdose mortality in recent years have been among women in midlife.
Year Supply of Contraceptives Prevents More Unintended Pregnancies
Birth Control Pill Change Could Save VA $2 Million Annually PITTSBURGH—What if there was a method to prevent nearly 600 unintended pregnancies and save the VA about $2 million a year in prenatal, birth and newborn care costs while also bolstering the reproductive...
A Fourth of Female Veterans Report Stranger Harassment at VAMCs
WASHINGTON—Women veterans regularly experience harassment by male veterans at VA facilities, and that harassment has a direct and lasting impact on their healthcare, VA researchers reported recently. Investigators from the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System and...
VA Struggles to Overcome Women’s Healthcare Disparities
WASHINGTON—VA is straining its capacity and struggling against a culture that can sometimes be hostile to women as it responds to what VA officials consider a “tsunami wave of women veterans” over the last decade. Today, women make up more than 16% of active-duty...
History of Abuse, PTSD Worsen Menopausal Symptoms
SAN FRANCISCO—Emotional abuse from a partner or spouse can increase the risk of heightened menopause symptoms, as can post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a VA-led study. Little is known about the prevalence of traumatic exposures among midlife and older women...
Military Women Face Barriers to Getting, Using Contraception
CAMBRIDGE, MA—Past studies have shown that the unintended pregnancy rate is higher among U.S. servicewomen than the general population and that servicewomen sometimes face barriers to contraceptive use. Yet, according to a study in Military Medicine, little research...
Fibromyalgia Presents Differently in Male, Female Veterans
Research on fibromyalgia, a poorly understood, chronically disabling pain syndrome, generally has focused on its clinical presentation and treatment.
DoD Study Finds That Type 2 Diabetes Increases Breast Cancer Mortality
Having Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) increases mortality risk in breast cancer patients, regardless of whether diabetes was diagnosed before or after breast cancer, according to a recent study.
Women’s Health Initiative at VA Increases Use of Point of Care Testing
NEW YORK — From 2000 to 2014, the number of women veterans receiving care through the VA doubled. Today, approximately 750,000 women are enrolled in the VHA healthcare system and about half a million use it each year.
Chiropractic Helpful for Female Veterans with Back Pain
BUFFALO, NY — Does chiropractic management create clinically significant improvement in low back pain for female U.S. veterans? That was the question investigated by a study published recently in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapy.1 For the...
Mental Health Diagnoses Increase Coronary Artery Disease Risks in Women Veterans
BOSTON — Depression and anxiety can be debilitating on their own. For women veterans, the conditions raise an additional concern: They significantly increase the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD)—the leading cause of death in the United States.
Advocacy Group Partners with VA to Improve Research on Female Concussions
BRONX, NY — In the civilian world, the word “concussion” might evoke the image of a football player and the sound of helmet-to-helmet contact. In a military environment, it might evoke the image of a soldier in the path of a blast wave. In both...
Chemotherapy Use Declines for Breast Cancer Patients
With growing concern about overtreatment of breast cancer as outcomes have improved over time, not much research has been performed on how chemotherapy use and oncologists’ recommendations have changed in recent years.
Post-Menopausal Veterans Frequently Prescribed Long-term Opioid Therapy
The VA has focused on reducing the risk of opioid abuse and addiction by issuing guidance that strongly recommends against the use of the painkillers for chronic pain since the implementation of the Opioid Safety Initiative in 2013.
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