Female Brain and Endocrinological Research – Veteran (Fember-Vet) Study: A Study Protocol for Identifying Endocrinological, Lifestyle and Psychosocial Determinants of Brain Health Outcomes in Female Veterans for Future Intervention Success

Background Recent studies have demonstrated a greater risk of dementia in female veterans compared to civilians; with the highest prevalence noted for former service women with a diagnosis of psychiatric (trauma, alcoholism, depression), and/or a physical health condition (brain injury, insomnia, diabetes). Such findings highlight the need for increased and early screening of medical and psychiatric conditions, and indeed dementia, in the female veteran population. Further, they call for a better understanding of the underlying biopsychosocial mechanisms that might confer heightened risk for female veterans, to tailor preventative and interventional strategies that support brain health across the lifespan. Methods The Female Brain and Endocrinological Research – Veteran (FemBER-Vet) Study will create a highly-phenotyped readiness cohort of ex-service persons as well as non-veterans to assess the impacts of, and risks associated with, military service on brain health, using state-of-the-art non-invasive cognitive, physiological and biomarker capture techniques. FEMBER-Vet will include 90 participants across three study groups (30 female veterans, 30 male veterans, 30 female civilians) to delineate the precise biological, socio-demographic, health, lifestyle, military-related, and life-course determinants of brain health outcomes (psychosocial, cognitive, neurophysiological, and other biomarkers). Discussion This work addresses the poorly understood biopsychosocial outcomes that female veterans experience compared to their male counterparts and the general female population. Ultimately, it will provide evidence to support the development of tailored interventions for an emerging health priority that currently lacks sufficient evidence for screening and therapeutic intervention.### Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.### Funding StatementYes### Author DeclarationsI confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.Not ApplicableThe details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:The study received full ethical approval from the Northumbria University Research & Ethics Committee (Ref: 3438).I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.Not ApplicableI understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).Not ApplicableI have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.Not ApplicableNo datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. All relevant data from this study will be made available upon study completion.