Incidence and prevalence of select cardiovascular risk factors and conditions, active component, U.S. Armed Forces,...

Area of Science:

• Military Health
• Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology
• Public Health Surveillance

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors pose a significant health burden.
• Understanding the incidence of these factors in military populations is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Electronic health records offer a valuable resource for epidemiological studies in the Armed Forces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the incidence of key cardiovascular disease risk factors within the active component of the U.S. Armed Forces.
• To analyze demographic variations in the prevalence of these risk factors.
• To identify trends in cardiovascular disease risk factor diagnoses over a ten-year period.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of electronic health records for active component service members.
• Defined incident cases based on diagnostic codes for hyperlipidemia, obesity, hypertension, abnormal blood glucose, and diabetes.
• Calculated incidence rates and analyzed demographic disparities (age, race/ethnicity, sex).

Main Results:

• Hyperlipidemia (300,340), obesity (235,407), and hypertension (230,564) were the most diagnosed risk factors.
• Incidence rates for all factors increased with age.
• Significant disparities observed: higher rates of hypertension and obesity in Black/non-Hispanic individuals; highest hyperlipidemia, abnormal glucose, and diabetes rates in Asian/Pacific Islanders.

Conclusions:

• Cardiovascular disease risk factors are prevalent across the active military force, affecting 18.5% of the analyzed population.
• Age, race/ethnicity, and sex are associated with differential risk factor incidence.
• Findings highlight the need for tailored public health strategies and interventions within the military to mitigate CVD risk.