PTSD Symptoms Among Vietnam, Persian Gulf, and Post-9/11 Combat Veterans: Findings From VALOR

Abstract Much is known about the mental health of combat Vietnam Veterans, but less is known about Persian Gulf and post-9/11 veterans and how they compare to those from earlier eras. Using data from an online survey of Oregon veterans, we examine how PTSD symptoms differ by combat exposure across these three cohorts. The sample (N=167, Mage=57.86, SD=12.09), was largely composed of White (88%), male (69%) Veterans. Most served in the Persian Gulf (41%), followed by Vietnam (36%) and post-9/11 (23%) eras. ANCOVAs showed significant cohort differences in PTSD, after controlling for severity of combat exposure and demographics (age, gender, education, income) (F(2, 157) = 4.24, p < .05). Post-9/11 veterans had significantly lower PTSD symptom severity than Vietnam-era veterans but were comparable to Persian Gulf. There were no cohort differences for noncombat veterans. Future research should investigate why Vietnam veterans continue to have worse mental health than younger veteran cohorts. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group.


POLYSOMNOGRAPHIC INDICATORS OF RESTORATIVE SLEEP AND BODY MASS TRAJECTORIES IN THE WISCONSIN SLEEP COHORT STUDY
Eric Reither, 1 Jodi Barnet, 2 Mari Palta, 2 Yin Liu, 1 Erika Hagen, 2 and Paul Peppard, 2 1. Utah State University, Logan, Utah, United States, 2. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States Previous research suggests that reductions in restorative sleep-i.e., slow-wave (N3) and rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep-are associated with weight gain and obesity in midto-late life. This study extends prior work by examining how within-person changes and between-person differences in restorative sleep are associated with body mass trajectories among participants in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study (WSCS). We used data from 4,862 polysomnographic sleep studies and physical exams collected from 1,187 WSCS participants over an average follow-up duration of 15 years. For both men and women, we found that (1) below-average N3 and REM sleep is associated with above-average BMI, and (2) within-person loss of N3 and REM sleep is associated with larger gains in BMI, particularly between ages 30-50. Our findings highlight the importance of restorative sleep in mid-to-late life, suggesting that future clinical treatments and public health policies will benefit from heightened attention to sleep quality.

VETERAN STATUS MATTERS! LIFE COURSE PERSPECTIVES ON THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF AGING VETERANS Chair: Avron Spiro
Military service during early life can result in exposure to traumatic events that can reverberate throughout life. Although much attention is focused on the negative effects of military service, many veterans report positive effects. These papers explore life course effects of military service on veterans' health and well-being. Three used national US longitudinal cohorts (HRS, MIDUS); two sampled veterans from Oregon or from Korea. Three compared veterans to nonveterans; two examined veterans only. Cheng and colleagues found that veterans in HRS are more likely to be risk-averse than non-veterans. Risk aversion matters because it determines how people make decisions and predicts a wide array of health and economic outcomes. Kurth and colleagues examined Oregon veterans from several wars, finding PTSD symptoms were highest among Vietnam combat veterans, the oldest cohort; there were no differences among noncombat veterans. Piazza and colleagues examined in MIDUS the impact of veteran status on cortisol, a stress biomarker, finding older veterans more likely had non-normative patterns than did younger or non-veterans. Lee and colleagues studied patterns of mental health among Korean Vietnam veterans, identifying two patterns as 'normal' and 'resilient' encompassing half the sample; these veterans demonstrated positive outcomes of military service. Frochen and colleagues compared depression trajectories between veterans and nonveterans in HRS, finding veterans had less depression than non-veterans, but among veterans, trajectories varied based on extent of service. in sum, these papers demonstrate that military service can have positive as well as negative effects on veterans' health and well-being in later life. Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

RISK AVERSION AMONG MALE OLDER ADULTS: DOES VETERAN STATUS MATTER?
Kent Jason Cheng, 1 Scott Landes, 2 and Janet Wilmoth, 1

Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, United States, 2. Aging Studies Institute -Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, United States
Risk aversion determines how people make decisions and is known to predict a wide array of economic outcomes. This study assessed whether there are veteran status differences in risk aversion utilizing the Health and Retirement Study. Risk aversion is based on hypothetical financial gambles (N=2,121; 2006 wave) and self-reported risk attitudes on selected topics (N= 4,980; pooled 2014 and 2016 waves of the Leave-Behind Survey). Results from multivariate analyses reveal that veterans were more likely to be risk averse than nonveterans in financial matters, occupation, and health, but veteran status is not statistically significant in explaining risk taking in driving and leisure, and sport risk. Further research is needed to discern the role of military service-related experiences in determining levels of risk aversion among veterans and the extent to which risk aversion accounts for veteran status differences in later-life economic outcomes. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group.

PTSD SYMPTOMS AMONG VIETNAM, PERSIAN GULF, AND POST-9/11 COMBAT VETERANS: FINDINGS FROM VALOR Maria Kurth, Carolyn Aldwin, and Richard Settersten, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Much is known about the mental health of combat Vietnam Veterans, but less is known about Persian Gulf and post-9/11 veterans and how they compare to those from earlier eras. Using data from an online survey of Oregon veterans, we examine how PTSD symptoms differ by combat exposure across these three cohorts. The sample (N=167, Mage=57.86, SD=12.09), was largely composed of White (88%), male (69%) Veterans. Most served in the Persian Gulf (41%), followed by Vietnam (36%) and post-9/11 (23%) eras. ANCOVAs showed significant cohort differences in PTSD, after controlling for severity of combat exposure and demographics (age, gender, education, income) (F(2, 157) = 4.24, p < .05). Post-9/11 veterans had significantly lower PTSD symptom severity than Vietnam-era veterans but were comparable to Persian Gulf. There were no cohort differences for noncombat veterans. Future research should investigate why Vietnam veterans continue to have worse mental health than younger veteran cohorts. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group. Although veterans typically have better health and lower mortality risk than nonveterans earlier in life, a crossover occurs in later life, resulting in comparatively poorer health and higher mortality risk in older age. Alterations in biomarkers of physical health could be an initial indicator of this crossover. The current study uses data from the second wave of the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) survey. Previously validated cortisol profiles (Dmitrieva et al. 2013) were used to categorize participants (N = 1101, age range: 33-88) into normative and non-normative groups, that were examined in relation to veteran status. Results revealed a significant age by veteran interaction (β = .0331, p = .038), indicating that older veterans were less likely to belong to the normative profile group than non-veterans and younger veterans. Results demonstrate the need to explore underlying physiological mechanisms linking military service with poorer health in later life. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group.

CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AMONG KOREAN VIETNAM WAR VETERANS: A LATENT PROFILE ANALYSIS
Hyunyup Lee, 1 Carolyn Aldwin, 2 Sungrok Kang, 3 and Xyle Ku, 3 1. Korea Military Academy, Seoul, Republic of Korea,2. Oregon State University,Corvallis,Oregon,United States,3. Korea Military Academy,Seoul,Seoult'ukpyolsi,Republic of Korea We investigated the dimensional structure of mental health among aging Korean Veterans using latent profile analysis (LPA) on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSD), late onset stress symptomology (LOSS), and psychosocial well-being (PWB). The Korean Vietnam War Veterans Study consists of 367 men (Mage=72, SD=2.66). LPA identified five classes of mental health as best fitting the data. Most men were in the normal (38%) and moderate distress (31%) groups, while smaller proportions were in the low affect (13%) and severe distress (7%) groups. The resilient group (12%) had low PTSD, medium LOSS, and high PWB, and were highest on optimism, positive appraisals of military service, and social support. Negative and positive aspects of mental health outcomes were on separate dimensions rather than on a single bipolar dimension. Service providers should attempt to both reduce Veterans' negative psychological symptoms and increase psychosocial well-being. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group.

VETERAN STATUS AND OLD AGE DEPRESSION: A LIFE COURSE EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDY
Stephen Frochen, 1 Connor Sheehan, 2 and Jennifer Ailshire 1 1. University of Southern California,Los Angeles,California,United States,2. Arizona State University,Tempe,Arizona,United States Military service and exposure to war may influence the development of depression, leading to disparities in the condition among veterans and non-veterans. This study included 10,512 older men from the 1996 to 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We estimated Center for Epidemiology Depression (CESD) score trajectories among veterans and non-veterans and veterans of different war cohorts in growth curve models, controlling for early, mid, and late life characteristics. CESD score trajectories were lower among veterans and war veterans than non-veterans and non-war veterans, respectively. The highest levels of depression were among war veterans who served in more than one war. Veterans demonstrated lower levels of depression than non-veterans, calling into question the health advantage of veterans and selection mechanisms into the military and out of HRS. Multiple war veterans showed the highest levels of depression, representing the greatest mental health threat to veterans in the study. Part Older adults frequently experience daily stressors and are at increased risk of adverse health consequences. Emerging studies have focused on factors that may buffer older adults' well-being and strengthen their resilience to stress. This symposium adds to this burgeoning literature and presents studies that identify a wide range of such stress-buffering factors, including individual characteristics and daily social and emotional experiences. Huo et al. considered older adults' empathy and found that more empathic individuals tended to use constructive strategies but not destructive strategies when coping with interpersonal tensions. When daily tensions occurred, more empathic individuals were also better at maintaining their mood. Kim et al. showed that older adults' marital status influenced their irritable encounters with grown children. Although irritable encounters were associated with increased daily negative mood, this link varied by parents' marital status. Hong et al. assessed the link between