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PTSD risk does not differ between male, female US military members

Among active U.S. military members and veterans, risk for PTSD did not significantly differ between genders.

“Deployments in support of the recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have included more women than all other conflicts in U.S. military history. The adverse mental health outcomes suffered by some returning from deployment has largely impacted this important subgroup of the military and force readiness as a whole,” Isabel G. Jacobson, MPH, of the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, and colleagues wrote. “While a plethora of previous research in the civilian population has found that women are more likely than men to develop [PTSD] following traumatic experiences, findings from military research are divergent, as highlighted by a recent review discussing conflicting evidence for gender differences in PTSD among studies of military personnel.”

Researchers evaluated deployed members of the U.S. military from the Millennium Cohort Study for 7 years, from baseline through two follow-up periods in 2001 and 2008. The study cohort included 4,684 matched participants, 2,342 men and women.

Overall, 6.7% of women and 6.1% of men developed PTSD during follow-up.

There were no significant gender differences in risk for developing PTSD or PTSD severity scores among those who reported combat experience and those who did not.

“Findings revealed no gender differences for new-onset post-deployment PTSD among men and women including among those who experienced combat. Future studies examining gender differences that aim to collect unit level information in order to equalize combat experience are recommended. This study supports the positive direction being taken by the expansion of women's occupations into combat arms roles, and suggests continued support from the [Department of Defense] for women seeking occupational equality in the military setting,” the researchers concluded. – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.