Objectives: This study aims to provide epidemiological baseline data of ROK military women’s health status and to identify and prioritize their health problems.
Methods: Internet based web survey was done with a 131-item-questionnaire. A total of 2068 subjects from army, navy, air-force, and marine-corps participated. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics was done utilizing SPSS Ver.20.
Results: 62.2% of the participants perceived their health status positively. Most frequent health problems were anemia(28.2%), chronic rhinitis(25%), allergies(21.5), urinary tract infection, and hemorrhoids(11.6% each). Life satisfaction was 3.63±.77 at 5-point scale. 8.9% were depressed and 4.9% had suicide ideation. Average BMI was 21.7 and obesity rate was 9.0%. Current smoking rate was 2.9% and high-risk alcohol use rate was 2.5%. Most common obstetric issues were premenstrual syndrome(59.1%) and menstrual pain(46%). 55% of the participants answered ‘didn’t take pop smear test ever’ or ‘don’t know when the test was done’. 80% of the subjects didn’t perform breast-self-exam and 69.5% had never learned about it.
Conclusions: Major issues and baseline data on military women’s health status were identified. The study results grant the necessity of policy development and further research for combat strength and readiness of military women.