War may have cut WWII veterans' lives short by five years

Kiwi men who were veterans of World War II appear to have had a shorter lifespan than other New Zealand men who were born at the same time, new research shows. Photo / Supplied

A new study has found that Kiwi men who were veterans of World War II have shorter life spans than others born at the same time.

The study, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal today, estimates the war typically took five years off the lives of veterans, with former soldiers dying at an average age of 68 instead of 73.

Lead author, Professor Nick Wilson, said this was particularly the case for those who were prisoners of war and often experienced severe malnutrition.

"But some war wounds could also have resulted in premature death, along with the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder," he said.

The situation is less clear cut than it may appear, however.

Professor Wilson, of the University of Otago, said some international studies have not recorded the same drop in life expectancy, something he attributes to the 'healthy soldier effect'.

"This effect arises from healthier men being selected into the military to start with – and with less healthy men being rejected at the recruitment stage," he said.

He said the results of the latest study are preliminary - as they are based on data from only 702 veterans, all of them buried in one large New Zealand cemetery.

"It is possible that these men, who were buried in the Taita Lawn Cemetery in Lower Hutt, were not typical of all New Zealand veterans.

"That is, if they had been disproportionately from lower socio-economic groups, then some reduced lifespan in this group might have been expected regardless of war participation.

"Nevertheless, from what we know of the socio-economic makeup of the Hutt Valley population, we think that any such effect may be small," Professor Wilson said.

Co-author Professor Glyn Harper said there is a need for a much larger study covering WWII veterans from all over New Zealand.

"New Zealand society needs to fully understand all the dimensions of one of the most important events in New Zealand's history and of the 20th century," he said.

Professor Harper, from Massey University, said the initial findings from the study are not surprising given that previous New Zealand research has found a high level of long-term health problems in World War II veterans.

The 1995 book Silent Casualties – New Zealand's Unspoken Legacy of the Second World War by journalist Alison Parr, reported that in 1985 more than 10,000 veterans were officially recognised as suffering from 'nervous system disabilities', including cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.

Official data shows that in 1946 there were 22,846 WWII veterans receiving war pensions for service-related disabilities.

In the 1945-1946 year the New Zealand Government spent £58,302 on the medical treatment of war pensioners.