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OBJECTIVES: Type 2 diabetes is an important public health problem but the risk in UK military veterans is unknown. We used data from the Trends in Scottish Veterans' Health study to investigate the risk in comparison with people with no record of service. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of a large national sample in Scotland, with up to 37 years follow-up. SETTING: Pseudoanonymised extract of computerised Scottish National Health Service records, including a disease register and national vital records. PARTICIPANTS: 78 000 veterans and 253 000 people with no record of service matched for age, sex and area of residence. OUTCOME MEASURES: Cox proportional HRs for first record of type 2 diabetes in veterans compared with non-veterans, overall and by sex and birth cohort. Long-term trend, comorbidity with specific mental health outcomes and risk of limb loss. RESULTS: Overall, 7.2% of veterans were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and were at slightly increased risk compared with non-veterans, Cox proportional HR 1.08, 95%CIs 1.04 to 1.11, p<0.001. The increased risk was confined to men, and to veterans born prior to 1960. There has been no change in HR over the last 25 years. Among veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 12.1% had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, compared with 9.4% of non-veterans with PTSD. The difference was statistically significant, OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.59, p=0.021. Risk of limb loss was increased among the oldest veterans. CONCLUSIONS: Older veterans in Scotland have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in comparison with non-veterans, but there is no difference in respect of younger veterans, and the pattern of risk shows no evidence that it is changing. There is a positive association between type 2 diabetes and PTSD, especially in the presence of comorbid mood disorder, an important finding which should be noted by care providers.

Introduction: Physical activity is an important component of military training. Although injuries and musculoskeletal disorders are the most common cause of medical retirement from the Armed Forces, the long-term risk of lower limb osteoarthritis in veterans is unknown. We used data on hip and knee replacement in Scottish military veterans as a proxy measure. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 78 000 veterans born between 1945 and 1995 and a comparison group of 253 000 non-veterans, matched for age, sex and area of residence, followed up for up to 37 years, using survival analysis to examine the risk of hip and knee replacement. Results: Veterans were significantly less likely to undergo hip replacement than non-veterans, Cox proportional HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.95, p<0.001. There was no significant difference between veterans and non-veterans in respect of knee replacement, HR 1.02, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.11, p=0.643, and there was no difference in the ages at which veterans and non-veterans underwent joint replacement. People who had served for longest in the military had similar risk to those with the shortest service. Conclusions: Based on the likelihood of undergoing joint replacement surgery in later life, we found no evidence of a positive association between military service and an increased risk of lower limb osteoarthritis.

INTRODUCTION: Individual, social and economic circumstances faced by young mothers (19 years or under) can challenge a successful start in life for their children. Intervening early might enhance life chances for both mother and child. The Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) is an intensive nurse-led home visiting programme developed in the US which aims to improve prenatal health behaviours, birth outcomes, child development and health outcomes, and maternal life course. Establishing evidence of effectiveness beyond the original US setting is important to understand where further adaptation is required within a country specific context. OBJECTIVE: This study will form one strand of the Scottish Government's plan to evaluate the effectiveness of FNP as compared to usual care for mothers and their children in Scotland and will focus only on outcomes that can be identified using routine administrative data systems. METHODS: This study is a natural experiment with a case-cohort design using linked anonymised routine health, educational and social care data. Cases will be women enrolled as FNP Clients in ten NHS Health Boards in Scotland and Controls will be women who met FNP eligibility criteria but were pregnant at a time when the programme was not recruiting. Outcomes are mapped to the Scottish FNP logic model. All comparative analyses will be pre-specified, conducted on an intention to treat basis and will use multilevel regression models to compare outcomes between groups. DISCUSSION: The study protocol is based upon the specification of FNP commissioned by the Scottish Government. This study design is novel for the evaluation of the FNP/NFP programmes which are primarily evaluated with an RCT. Outcomes included within the study have been selected on the basis that they are outcomes FNP aims to influence and where there is routine data available to assess the outcome