Researchers have shown that routine GP records can be used to build a far clearer picture of the health of UK military veterans, helping to address long-standing gaps in evidence about their physical and mental wellbeing.
The study, led by the King’s Centre for Military Health Research and funded by Forces in Mind Trust, examined whether the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) could be used to identify veterans within primary care data and analyse their health at scale.
Why primary care matters
For most people, general practice is the first point of contact with the health system. GP records therefore capture a wide range of physical and mental health conditions over long periods, rather than only episodes requiring hospital treatment.
Until recently, however, veterans have not been systematically identifiable within primary care datasets. This has limited understanding of how military service may shape long-term health outcomes once personnel return to civilian life.
CPRD contains anonymised data from around 2,400 GP practices across the UK and covers more than 65 million patients historically, representing nearly a third of the population today.
What the research found
Using clinical coding systems, researchers identified more than 138,000 veterans registered with GP practices across the UK. Analysis of those based in England showed that, compared with non-veterans, veterans had more GP consultations and more complete health records, suggesting regular engagement with primary care.
The data also showed higher rates of several physical and mental health conditions among veterans, including lower back pain, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, myocardial infarction, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Veterans were more than 16 times as likely as non-veterans to have a recorded diagnosis of PTSD, and almost three times as likely to be living with multiple long-term conditions.
Linking GP data with hospital records in England improved the completeness of ethnicity information and identified additional health needs. This showed higher rates of hospitalisation among veterans for musculoskeletal and cardiovascular conditions.
Why this matters for veterans
A key outcome of the study was the development and validation of a reliable method to identify veterans within primary care data. This provides a foundation for future research and allows direct comparisons between veterans and the wider population.
Researchers say this approach makes it possible to track health trends over time, identify groups at higher risk, and assess the impact of policies and services designed to support veterans. It also opens the door to more detailed analysis of how factors such as length of service, role, or service era may influence long-term health.
Next steps
Further funding has been secured to extend the research across all four UK nations. The next phase will examine regional variation in health outcomes and provide evidence to inform national policy and targeted support.
Future work may also focus on groups that have been under-represented in previous research, including women veterans, those from ethnic minority backgrounds and different service-era cohorts. Researchers hope that stronger data linkage will also improve understanding of the social and environmental factors that shape veterans’ health.
Taken together, the findings show how primary care data can play a central role in improving evidence, policy and healthcare provision for the Armed Forces community.
