Publications

The following manuscripts have been published or are currently in press. Listings are in chronological order, unless otherwise noted.

Research Publication 2
Title Publication Date/Location
The effect of combat exposure on veteran homelessness Journal of Housing Economics Information 2020 Sept; 49,101711

Ackerman A, Porter B, Sullivan R

Homelessness is a serious problem among veterans, but how military service contributes to the risk of homelessness is unclear. This study examined the impact of witnessing another's death (a proxy for combat) on likelihood of reporting homelessness. One exposure was associated with a 0.6% increase in homelessness. Extrapolated to the overall population, combat exposure is expected to contribute to 4,600 instances of homeless veterans.

View abstract

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Clusters in Service Members Predict New-Onset Depression Among Military Spouses Journal of Traumatic Stress 2020 Sep 3. doi: 10.1002/jts.22575

Walter KH, LeardMann CA, Carballo CE, McMaster HM, Donoho CJ, & Stander VA

Among spouses of service members with probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 14% met criteria for new-onset depression over a 3-year period. The service member’s PTSD symptom cluster of effortful avoidance was associated with an increased risk of new-onset depression in spouses, underscoring the impact of service member psychological symptoms on the spouse.

View full text

Mental Health, Physical Health, and Health-Related Behaviors of U.S. Army Special Forces PLOS One 2020 Jun 3;15(6):e023356

Cooper AD, Warner SG, Rivera AC, Rull RP, Adler AB, Faix DJ, Neff RR, Deagle EA, Caserta RJ, LeardMann CA, for the Millennium Cohort Study Team

Using prospective data, Army Special Forces personnel and Ranger Qualified infantrymen reported fewer mental health problems, multiple somatic symptoms, and unhealthy behaviors than General Purpose Forces infantrymen. Findings indicate that the adoption of healthy behaviors, such as adequate sleep and physical activity, may be an efficient and cost-effective approach for preventing adverse health outcomes, regardless of occupational specialization or prior health status.

View full text

Surveillance Snapshot: Cervical Screening among U.S. Military Servicewomen in the Millennium Cohort Study, 2003–2015 Medical Surveillance Monthly Report 2020 Jul;27(7):15

Matsuno RK, Porter B, Warner SG, Wells N for the Millennium Cohort Study Team

Across a 13 year period (2003-2015), the percentage of U.S. service women who were up-to-date with cervical cancer screening peaked in 2010, then declined. Screening was generally highest among Air Force personnel and lowest among Navy personnel. Being up-to-date was higher for servicewomen who had initiated the HPV vaccine than for women who had not.

View full text

Prevalence of Chronic Multisymptom Illness/Gulf War Illness Over Time Among Millennium Cohort Participants, 2001 to 2016 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2020 Jan;62(1):4-10

Porter B, Long K, Rull RP, Dursa EK for the Millennium Cohort Study Team

Chronic multisymptom illness/Gulf War illness (CMI/GWI) is a signature illness of the 1990-1991 Gulf War. Using a modified CMI/GWI definition, this study estimated the prevalence of CMI/GWI from 2001-2016 among Gulf War veterans and two other non-deployed groups enrolled in the Millennium Cohort Study. Overall, Gulf War veterans had the highest prevalence of CMI/GWI across the study period. The prevalence among all three groups increased substantially at approximately the same rate from 2001 to 2016.

View full text

Smoking Among U.S. Service Members Following Transition From Military to Veteran Status Health Promotion Practice 2020 Jan;21(1_suppl):165S-175S

Nieh C, Powell TM, Gackstetter GD, Hooper TI

This study examined whether the time period just prior to military separation or the reasons for separation were associated with smoking among veterans. We found that service members are more likely to smoke when closer to their military separation date. The smoking prevalence among service members separating within 3 months was 23%, whereas 17% was observed among those separating in 2+ years. We also found that veterans who were heavy drinkers were 50% more likely to smoke and those with a standards/judicial-related separation reason were 69% more likely to smoke.

View full text

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Risk of Selected Autoimmune Diseases among US Military Personnel BMC Psychiatry 2020 Jan 15; 20 (1):23

Bookwalter DB, Roenfeldt KA, LeardMann CA, Kong SY, Riddle MS,Rull RP

This study investigated the association between PTSD and risk of developing selected autoimmune diseases among US active duty service members. Among 120,572 participants followed for an average of 5 years, risk of any of the selected new-onset autoimmune diseases was 58% higher for those with a history of PTSD compared to those with no history. Observed associations did not differ by specific types of trauma experienced. Future research is needed to understand the physiological pathways that may link PTSD with increased risk of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.

View full text

Healthy Behaviors and Incidence of Overweight and Obesity in Military Veterans Annals of Epidemiology 2019;39:26–32.e1

Bookwalter DB, Porter B, Jacobson IG, Kong SY, Littman AJ, Rull RP, Boyko EJ

This study looked at how several healthy behaviors of veterans (including moderate-to-high physical activity, low sedentary time, eating little fast-food, appropriate nightly sleep duration, non-smoking, and moderate alcohol use) were associated with weight changes. Veterans who reported more healthy behaviors were less likely to become overweight and/or obese. For example, if all veterans of a healthy weight followed all six healthy behaviors, the number of veterans becoming overweight is estimated to go down by 23% and the number of veterans becoming obese is estimated to go down by 68%.

View abstract

Combat and Trajectories of Physical Health Functioning in U.S. Service Members American Journal of Preventative Medicine 2019 Nov;57(5):637-644

Porter B, Bonanno GA, Bliese PD, Phillips CJ, Proctor SP for the Millennium Cohort Study Team

Combat is detrimental to long-term physical health functioning among deployed service members, but other pre-deployment modifiable factors like body size and smoking status had stronger associations with subsequent trajectories. This indicates the negative impact of combat may be mitigated through pre-deployment healthy behaviors.

View full text

Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, and Physical Activity Among U.S. Military Service Members in the Millennium Cohort Study Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2019 Mar 2;886260519832904. doi: 10.1177/0886260519832904

Thomas CL, Nieh C, Hooper TI, Gackstetter GD, LeardMann CA, Porter B, Blazer DG; for the Millennium Cohort Study Team

This study examined the association of recent sexual trauma with subsequent physical activity levels among service members. The findings indicate that personnel who experienced sexual assault were more likely to report high levels of physical activity (300+ mins/week), while those who reported sexual harassment were less likely to engage in medium-high levels of physical activity (300-449 mins/week), compared with those without sexual harassment or sexual assault. This study highlights how coping responses to sexual trauma among current military members may be intertwined with physical activity.

View full text

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense of non-U.S. Government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the Department of Defense may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for Department of Defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.

Publication badge scores are provided by Altmetric.