One in seven female soldiers, or about 15 percent, who were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and later sought health care for any reason reported being sexually harassed or assaulted during their service, according to a study by Department of Veterans Affairs researchers.

In contrast, only 0.7 percent of male soldiers reported similar experiences.

Women who reported harassment or assault were 2.3 times as likely to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder as those who did not, and were also more likely to suffer depression or substance-abuse disorders. Men who reported it were 1.5 times more likely to suffer other disorders.

Similar data have been found in other studies of the military, "but these are the first data specifically coming from veterans deployed in those operations, which makes them novel," said clinical psychologist Amy Street of the National Center for PTSD at the Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System.

Also, no previous study had correlated sexual misconduct with mental health problems among veterans of the deployments, said Dr. Street, a co-author of the research. The data are being presented yesterday at a San Diego meeting of the American Public Health Association.

The study started with all patients who used VA health care between Oct. 1, 2001, and Oct. 1, 2007. They were matched against an administrative list of soldiers who were deployed in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Those deployed might not have served in those two countries, however.

More than 125,000 patients met both criteria. All patients seeking medical care are routinely asked if they have been subjected to harassment or assault. "They may not tell if they are not asked about them," Dr. Street said.

Among this group, 15.1 percent of women and 0.7 percent of men gave positive answers. The data do not indicate what proportion were assaulted, and researchers do not know if the incidents happened while they were deployed or some other time during military service.

The rates are less than those of a similar study released in 2007 by Dr. Street and her colleagues. In that study of all VA health-care users in 2003, not just those deployed, the researchers found that 21.5 percent of females and 1 percent of males had suffered sexual assault or harassment. The researchers are uncertain why the rate was lower among deployed soldiers.

The Department of Defense has developed a sexual assault prevention and response program, "and we may be seeing a response to those policies," Dr. Street said.