Researchers Hope Medical Database Will Advance Veterans' Health

Lauren Kirkwood | McClatchy | April 9, 2013

WASHINGTON — By creating a medical database of health information gathered from U.S. veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs hopes to better understand how genes affect the health of both veterans and civilians.

The Million Veteran Program aims to collect data from 1 million veteran participants in order to study diseases ranging from diabetes to post-traumatic stress disorder.

"The purpose of the Million Veteran Program is to create a database of genetic military exposure, lifestyle and health information in order to conduct research that can improve veterans' health care," said Gabrielle Gill, the VA research coordinator in Baltimore.