Deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan significantly affects the quality and quantity of sleep of many U.S. military personnel, new research indicates.

A study in the Dec. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found that deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan significantly influenced sleep quality and quantity in a population of 41,225 military service personnel. The study suggests that the promotion of healthier sleep patterns may be beneficial for military service members.

Since 2001, the Department of Defense has been conducting a large-scale, long-term study of military personnel and veterans to help close the information gap. The Millennium Cohort Study randomly selected the first of what were eventually about 150,000 participants from all service branches, the National Guard and the reserves, asking them to answer health-related questionnaires once every three years over a span of 21 years.

Military service members with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to develop diabetes than their counterparts without PTSD symptoms, results of a new study hint. While previous research has suggested that depression increases the risk of diabetes, the new study of more than 44,000 active duty service members suggests another stronger association.

Results [from the Millennium Cohort Study] ... are being regularly reported and are better informing DoD, VA and other medical providers on how to best care for those who are serving our nation. More than 30 publications of findings from the Millennium Cohort Study have already appeared in medical and scientific journals.

The "Advance for Respiratory Care & Sleep Medicine" publication covers some cutting edge military medicine research that is currently ongoing. Highlighted in this article is the Millennium Cohort Study's contributions to U.S. military's epidemiological efforts.

The Millennium Cohort Study, which was launched in 2001 to help address health outcomes related to Service members' deployments, will soon be increasing its enrollment to more than 200,000 participants. The next survey cycle, which begins this year, will add 50,000 new Cohort members plus 10,000 spouses of Service members to the study.

A recent study published by DoD researchers in the American Journal of Epidemiology reports that service members who deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan are at no increased risk for developing chronic respiratory conditions.

DoD medical researchers have found that service members who suffered multiple combat exposures during a deployment, and especially those who had witnessed death as a result of war, were much more likely to report hypertension (chronic high blood pressure) compared to those who had not seen combat.