After surveying nearly 10,000 U.S. veterans the reports show their chief concern within the first year after leaving the service - beyond work or social relationships - is their health.

While the veterans were largely satisfied with their work and social lives, most said that they had chronic physical problems, and a 3rd said that they had chronic psychological state problems, researchers report within the American Journal of medicine.

Presently, quite 200,000 U.S. service members transition out of military service annually. The period shortly after discharge often sets the stage for future issues, and addressing problems early may help veterans transition more smoothly to civilian life, said study leader Dr. Dawne Vogt, of the VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University.

With a big proportion of veterans reporting health issues shortly after leaving the military, these issues “have the potential to erode their broader well-being over time if they're not treated,”

Vogt and colleagues surveyed nearly 47,000 veterans who had left the military within the fall of 2016; they received responses from 9,566. This group was surveyed three months after discharge, and again six months later. At both points, chronic health issues were the chief issue for roughly 53%, followed by psychological state issues reported by roughly 33%. The most common issues mentioned were chronic pain, sleep problems, anxiety, and depression.

Most participants said their concerns over these issues had increased within the first three months after leaving military service. Despite the physical and psychological state concerns, most veterans said they were satisfied with their work and social relationships.

More than three-quarters said they were in an intimate relationship within the months after leaving the military, and nearly two-thirds said they were in close contact with friends and family and were involved in their broader communities.

Although over half of respondents found work within three months of leaving the military, the researchers noted a gentle decline within the veterans’ ability to function well at work, which likely resulted from their health issues. Compared to officers, enlisted vets were worse off in areas of health, employment, and social functioning. And not surprisingly, vets who deployed to war zones had more health concerns than those that didn't.

 There were also stark differences by gender, with male veterans more likely to possess found work than female vets at both time points. Male vets were also more likely to report problems with hearing, vital sign, and cholesterol, while female veterans were more likely to report psychological state conditions including depression and anxiety. Typically, funding from the VA and other organizations focuses on helping veterans find jobs, but Vogt’s team believes the results involve a “rethinking” of how veterans programs prioritize their resources. Dr. Christine Elnitsky of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who hasn't involved the study, noted that the survey had a coffee response rate. She said several other longitudinal studies on the transition and reintegration of veterans are ongoing. “The research must move to a subsequent phase of having the ability to model and predict outcomes and evaluate interventions,” she wrote in emailed comments. She acknowledged that the study didn't check out whether a departure from the military was intentional or not.