Medical profile of women veterans administration outpatients who report a history of sexual assault occurring while in the military

To profile differences in current physical symptoms and medical conditions among women users of Veterans Administration (VA) health services with and without a self-reported history of sexual assault sustained during military service, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a nationally represent ative, random sample of women veterans using VA outpatient sen ices (n = 36 32). A self-administered, mailed survey asked whether women had sustained s exual assault while in the military and requested information about a spect rum of physical symptoms and medical conditions. A history of sexual assaul t while in the military was reported by 23% of women VA users and was assoc iated with current physical symptoms and medical conditions in every domain assessed. For example, women who reported sexual assault were more likely to indicate that they had a "heart attack" within the past year, even after adjusting for age, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking history (OR 2.3, 95 % CI 1.3-4.0). Among women reporting a history of sexual assault while in t he military, 26% endorsed greater than or equal to 12 of 24 symptoms/condit ions, compared with 11% of women with no reported sexual assault while in t he military (p < 0.001). Clinicians need to be attuned to the high frequenc y of sexual assault occurring while in the military reported by women VA us ers and its associated array of current physical symptoms and medical condi tions. Clinicians should consider screening both younger and older patients for a sexual violence history, especially patients with multiple physical symptoms.