US military service and racial/ethnic differences in cardiovascular disease: An analysis of the 2011-2016 behavioral risk factor surveillance system

Abstract

Objective: To determine: 1) rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among individuals with and without prior US military service; and 2) variation in CVD outcomes by race/ethnicity. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of the 2011-2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System during 2018-2019. Groups with (n=369,844) and without (n=2,491,784) prior service were compared overall, and by race/ethnicity. CVD odds were compared using logistic regression. Rate-difference decomposition was used to estimate relative contributions of covariates to differences in CVD prevalence. Results: CVD was associated with military service (OR=1.34; P