Lead author Nisara S. Granado , an epidemiologist at the Department of Defense Center for Deployment Health Research at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego , Calif . , and colleagues analyzed 36,061 service members , including a sub-group of 8,829 deployed in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan 2001-03 . -- Deployed service members who reported multiple combat exposures were 33 percent more likely to self-report high blood pressure than those who did not report combat exposures . -- Those deployed but not exposed to combat were 23 percent less likely to self-report hypertension compared to those not deployed , possibly because deployers are generally healthier than non-deployers . -- Among deployed personnel , non-Hispanic blacks were 97 percent more likely to self-report hypertension than non-Hispanic whites , while Hispanics were 50 percent more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report hypertension .