Funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) will support four projects investigating possible connections between toxic environmental factors and Parkinson’s disease, including those encountered in military service and daily life exposure to pesticides and air pollution.

For the past 20 years – and longer before that – service members have returned from deployment talking about mental health concerns and illness they believed were linked to their time in the military, with many of their concerns backed by a variety of studies. Now, a study that has been following military personnel, both active-duty and veterans, for 20 years supports the theory that experiencing combat can lead to adverse physical and health effects.

A University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher will examine the role of cumulative psychosocial stress – as well as race, ethnicity and gender – among U.S. military personnel to gauge their impact on cardiovascular health and healthcare utilization. The study is funded by a $1 million grant from the Defense Health Agency, part of the Department of Defense (DoD). The findings will help the military develop programs for health promotion and health readiness for active duty and Reserve/National Guard personnel.

The results of a new study are confirming the lasting impacts that military service can have on a person's health and wellness.

Military healthcare professionals have similar rates of new-onset PTSD or depression compared to those in other military occupations. Similar to other types of military personnel, combat exposure was the key factor that increased the rates of new-onset PTSD/depression in this sample, as deployed healthcare professionals with combat exposure had twice the odds of new-onset PTSD/depression compared to those deployed without combat exposure.

New study results recently reported in May/June issue of Public Health Reports reveal important associations between the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and physical activity levels among U.S. service members.

SAN DIEGO -- National Guard and reserve troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely than active-duty personnel to drink heavily when they came home, found researchers here ...

Stimulant medications used to treat attention deficit problems and keep service members alert during long stretches of combat might increase vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder.

Military personnel who have poor mental or physical health before they go into combat are more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder following their battlefield experience, a U.S. military study finds ...