Military-related trauma is associated with eating disorder symptoms in male veterans

Objective: Eating disorders are understudied among male veterans, who may be at increased risk due to the high rates of trauma exposure and experiences of multiple traumatization in this population. This study sought to examine the associations between specific types of trauma (i.e., childhood physical abuse, adult physical assault, childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and military-related trauma) and eating disorder symptoms in a large, nationally-representative sample of trauma-exposed male veterans.

Method: Survey data were collected from N = 642 male veterans. Traumatic experiences in childhood and adulthood were assessed using the Trauma History Screen and the National Stressful Events Survey. Eating disorder symptoms were assessed with the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale. Analyses also controlled for age and body mass index.

Results: Multiple traumatization was associated with increased eating disorder symptoms. However, military-related trauma was the only trauma type that was uniquely associated with eating disorder symptoms when controlling for other trauma types. Examination of different types of military-related trauma indicated that this association was not driven by exposure to combat.

Discussion: Noncombat, military-related trauma was associated with eating disorder symptom severity in male veterans. Results highlight the need for better assessment of eating disorder symptoms in this population.