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Sex Differences in the Relationship between Military Service Status and Functional Limitations and Disabilities

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Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between military service status (active duty, veteran, never served), sex, and six functional limitations/disabilities using data from the 5% sample of the 2000 U.S. Census. We estimate multivariate logistic regression models separately for men and women, and evaluate sex differences by comparing coefficients across models using a Wald chi-square test and computing predicted probabilities. For both men and women, the highest rates of functional limitation/disability are observed among veterans, while the lowest rates are recorded among active duty personnel. The increased odds of functional limitations/disabilities associated with veteran status is higher among women than men, whereas the decreased odds of functional limitations/disabilities associated with active duty status is lower among women than men. The predicted probabilities, which are based on a subgroup of 40–49 year olds with select sociodemographic characteristics, indicate that veteran women’s probabilities of many types of functional limitations/disabilities equal or exceed those of veteran men. Overall, the findings suggest women experience a more detrimental effect of past military service and a less beneficial effect of current military service. More life course analysis with longitudinal data that accounts for factors that influence sex-differentiation with respect to selection into military service, experiences in the military, and the short- and long-term consequences of military service is needed to fully understand sex differences in the relationship between military service and functional limitations/disabilities.

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Acknowledgment

Work on this paper was supported by NIH Grant #5R01AG028480, “Military Service and Health Outcomes in Later Life” (PI: Janet M. Wilmoth).

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Wilmoth, J.M., London, A.S. & Parker, W.M. Sex Differences in the Relationship between Military Service Status and Functional Limitations and Disabilities. Popul Res Policy Rev 30, 333–354 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-010-9191-0

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