Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

Spotlight on Women's Health

Research on Active Duty Servicewomen and Women Veterans: Research Opportunities using the Millennium Cohort Study


by MAJ Keyia Carlton, PhD, MS ; Sally Haskell, MD ; Rayna Matsuno, PhD, MPH ; Lt Col Patricia Rohrbeck, DrPH, MPH, MS ; Rudolph Rull, PhD, MPH
Seminar date: 1/11/2021

Description: This cyberseminar presents an overview of the Women’s Health research being conducted within the Millennium Cohort Study (MilCo). MilCo represents the largest population-based prospective health study in US military history, with over 200,000 military personnel from all services and components (Active, Reserve, National Guard) enrolled since 2001 (pre-9/11). MilCo is focused on prospectively determining the impacts of military deployments, experiences, and exposures on the long-term health of service members and Veterans. Surveys are completed every 3-5 years, even after participants leave military service and become Veterans, and follow-up will continue through 2068. Surveys assess mental and physical health, health behaviors, military exposures, and other experiences, and include items specific to women’s health (e.g., menstruation, contraceptive use, and pregnancy). Results are linked with multiple enterprise military and medical databases and, most recently, VA data. Lt Col Rohrbeck will present an overview of the Military Population Health Directorate, MAJ Carlton will present an overview of Deployment Health Research, and Dr. Rull will present an overview of MilCo methods/measures. Dr. Matsuno will describe the women participants (both service members and Veterans) within MilCo, past MilCo studies focused on women’s health, ongoing women’s health research, and a brief introduction to the linkage with VA data. Dr. Haskell will then moderate an open discussion of potential future research directions. Supported by the VA Women's Health Research Network (SDR 10-012), this Session is one of several planned to review MilCo research opportunities.

View archived session video:



DOWNLOAD: PDF handout | Audio only (mp3) | transcript not yet available


Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.