Health risk behaviors of Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans attending college

Abstract: 

Purpose. The population of military veterans attending college is rapidly growing as veterans return from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). We sought to describe patterns of student veterans' health-related behaviors and how they might differ from their nonveteran peers. Design: We analyzed data from the 2008 Boynton College Student Health Survey (CSHS). Setting: CSHS participants completed an anonymous online survey. Subjects: The CSHS sampled students (n  =  8651) attending public, private, 2-year, and 4-year postsecondary educational institutions in Minnesota. Measures: The CSHS included items on substance use (including alcohol and tobacco), safety, nutrition, and physical activity. Analysis: We described demographics of OEF/OIF veteran, non-OEF/OIF veteran, and nonveteran students and used Poisson regression to compute adjusted relative risks (ARRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to characterize associations between veteran status and health behaviors. Results: After controlling for demographics, veteran students reported more safety-, tobacco-, and alcohol-related risk behaviors compared to nonveteran students. For instance, compared to the nonveteran reference group, the ARR for past year smokeless tobacco use and physical fighting among for OEF/OIF veterans was 1.76 (95% CI  =  1.31–2.35) and 1.48 (95% CI  =  1.22–1.79) respectively. Veteran and nonveteran students display similar weight-related behaviors, though OEF/OIF veteran students were more likely to engage in strengthening exercises. Conclusions: There are specific health risk behaviors that are particularly relevant for veterans attending postsecondary institutions. As veterans enroll in postsecondary education, there is a unique window of opportunity for health promotion in this population.