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Title: Are Veterans Healthier? Military Service and Health at Age 40 in the All-Volunteer Era
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Teachman, Jay D.
Are Veterans Healthier? Military Service and Health at Age 40 in the All-Volunteer Era
Social Science Research 40,1 (January 2011): 326-335.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X10000803
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Health Factors; Military Service; Veterans

I explore the relationship between active-duty military service and self-reported health measured at age 40. Based on selectivity, veterans of active-duty service might be expected to have better health than civilians. Using data taken from the NLSY-79, I show that this is not the case. Although veterans of reserve-duty service, and nonveterans who passed the military’s physical exam for entrance into the military report better physical health, active-duty veterans do not. The lower than expected self-reported health of active-duty veterans cannot be explained by differences on confounding variables such as income, education, and marital status. In addition, the lower physical health of these veterans cannot be explained by differences in health-related behaviors such as excessive alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and body mass index.
Bibliography Citation
Teachman, Jay D. "Are Veterans Healthier? Military Service and Health at Age 40 in the All-Volunteer Era." Social Science Research 40,1 (January 2011): 326-335.