War Stress and Late-Life Mortality in World War II Male Civilian Resistance Veterans

Abstract

The mental and physical health of 146 Dutch males exposed to severe war stress during their young adulthood were examined in 1986–1987 when they were at ages 61 to 66 years. The veterans' data were compared with a randomly selected population-based sample of same-aged males. In 2005, 70% of the war stress veterans had died, and only 35% of the comparison group. The baseline quality of life was significantly poorer in the war stress veterans than in the comparison group. Baseline variables explained 42% of the increased risk of mortality among war stress veterans. Smoking was the largest single contributor to mortality.