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U.S. Military Burden of Disease Study: Disability Weights Using a Web-based Survey Among Military Service Members
Amanda M Staudt1, J A Haagsma2, Jennifer D Trevino1
1Data Analytics and Epidemiology, The Geneva Foundation, JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Sam Houston, TX 78234, United States.
Military Medicine
|May 8, 2025
Summary
Military health readiness metrics are incomplete. New disability weights for U.S. service members closely align with general population weights, supporting their use in military health assessments.
Area of Science:
- Military medicine
- Public health
- Health economics
Background:
- Current military readiness metrics are insufficient and potentially biased.
- Disability-adjusted life year (DALY) quantifies disease burden using disability weights.
- General population disability weights may not accurately reflect military service demands.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate disability weights specific to U.S. service members.
- To compare these military-specific weights with those from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2010 study.
Main Methods:
- Web-based surveys administered to a representative sample of U.S. service members.
- Disability weights assessed using the GBD 2010 methodology.
- Probit and non-parametric regression used to estimate and scale disability weights.
Main Results:
- A strong positive correlation (Spearman's rho = 0.883) was found between U.S. service member and GBD disability weights.
- The median disability weight for 220 health states did not significantly differ between the two groups (P = 0.169).
- 165 service members completed the survey.
Conclusions:
- U.S. military-specific disability weights are comparable to GBD general population weights.
- General population disability weights can effectively approximate the burden of disease in military populations.
- Findings support the use of global health metrics for military medical readiness policymaking.
