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Veteran Physical & Mental Health
According to the Life After Service Studies, Canadian Regular Force Veterans (released from 1998-2012) reported high levels of life satisfaction. However, when compared to the general Canadian pop-ulation, there are some areas of concern for Veterans including much higher prevalences of chronic pain, musculoskeletal disorders, hearing problems and mental health conditions (see Figure 1).
- Majority rate health "very good/excellent"
Over half of Regular Force Vet-erans (53%) rate their health as “very good/excellent”. This is less than the general Canadian population (63%). - Physical health conditions more likely
Chronic physical health condi-tions are 3-4 times more prevalent in Regular Force Veterans than chronic mental health conditions. - Co-occurrence is common
90% of those with a mental health condition also report a physical health condition. This comorbidity has a disproportionate impact on the Veteran’s quality of life. - Stress levels similar to Canadians.
Regular Force Veterans are slightly less likely than the general Canadian population to report high life stress (23% vs 26%).
| Canadian General Population | Regular Force Veterans | |
|---|---|---|
| Mood disorder | 6.3% | 17.1% |
| Anxiety disorder | 5.6% | 11.1% |
| PTSD | 1.3% | 13.1% |
| Arthritis | 10.8% | 22.4% |
| Back problems | 18.8% | 34.5% |
| Chronic pain | 20.1% | 33.8% |
| Obesity | 20.2% | 26.1% |
| Cardiovascular | 16.8% | 19.3% |
| Migraine | 8.2% | 14.1% |
| Hearing problems | 2.2% | 8.5% |
| Gastrointestinal | 5.2% | 8.6% |
| Respiratory | 8.1% | 7.2% |
| Diabetes | 5.2% | 5.6% |
| Cancer | 1.3% | 1.6% |
Info Brief Reference (Veteran Physical and Mental Health):
Thompson JM, Van Til L, Poirier A, Sweet J, McKinnon K, Sudom K, Dursun S, Pedlar D. Health and Well-Being of Canadian Armed Forces Veterans: Findings from the 2013 Life After Service Survey. Charlottetown PE: Research Directorate, Veterans Affairs Canada.03 July 2014.
For full reports, contact: VAC.research-recherche.ACC@vac-acc.gc.ca