Counseling and other factors associated with contraceptive use among active duty US military servicewomen.

ObjectivesContraceptive prescriptions among U.S. service women rose to 68.

COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate and Vaccination Rates in the US Military, 2020‒2022.

To assess the effect of the vaccination mandate on COVID-19 vaccination rates and identify independent factors associated with lack of postmandate vaccination among service members. We assessed all active component service members for COVID-19 vaccination status from December 11, 2020, to January 1, 2022. We used comparative interrupted time series analysis and logistic regression to compare pre- and postmandate completion of the vaccine series between the US military and the US general population.

Statistical Accuracy of Administratively Recorded Race/Ethnicity in the Military Health System and Race/Ethnicity Ascertained via Questionnaire.

Background: Unequal disease burdens such as SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and COVID-19 outcomes across race/ethnicity groups have been reported. Misclassification of and missing race and ethnicity (race/ethnicity) data hinder efforts to identify and address health disparities in the US Military Health System (MHS); therefore, we evaluated the statistical accuracy of administratively recorded race/ethnicity data in the MHS Data Repository (MDR) through comparison to self-reported race/ethnicity collected via questionnaire in the Epidemiology, Immunology, and Clinical Characteristics of Emerging Infectious Diseases with Pandemic Potential (EPICC) cohort study.

Methods: The study population included 6009 active duty/retired military (AD/R) and dependent beneficiaries (DB).

A cross-sectional study of the association between sleep disturbance profiles, unmet mental health or substance use needs, and presenteeism among United States activity-duty service members using the 2018 health-related behaviours survey (HRBS).

Inadequate sleep, unmet mental health or substance use needs (unmet needs), and presenteeism are prevalent among military populations. This study aimed to cross-sectionally determine the association between sleep disturbance profiles, unmet needs, and presenteeism in US active-duty service members, both separately and combined. Data were collected from the 2018 Health-Related Behaviours Survey.

Oral medications for the treatment of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome; a systematic review of studies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is a complex form of dysautonomia that presents with abnormal autonomic reflexes upon standing, leading to symptoms such as lightheadedness, tachycardia, fatigue, and cognitive impairment. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought renewed attention to POTS due to its overlap with post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Studies have found that a substantial percentage of COVID-19 survivors exhibit symptoms resembling POTS, elevating POTS diagnoses to previously unseen levels.

Risk for exertional heat illness among US army enlistees: climate indexes, intrinsic factors and their interactions.

Objectives: To characterise intrinsic and extrinsic (climatic) risks for mild and severe exertional heat illness (EHI) among first-year army enlistees.

Methods: We examined 337 786 soldiers who enlisted between 2012 and 2019. Survival models were used to predict incident EHI from intrinsic factors (demographics, healthcare utilisation, chronic conditions, body mass index (BMI), Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), upper/lower respiratory tract infections (URTI and LRTI), skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTI), extrinsic factors (geographical region, daily mean Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT)) and interactions.

Guest editorial: health policy analysis on improving HIV PrEP implementation to help end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. military.

Use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among U.S. military service members at high risk for HIV infection remains suboptimal, resulting in preventable new HIV infections and decreased medical readiness among service members.

The Relationship Between Physical Activity Profiles and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Results of a Cross-Sectional Survey of Active Duty U.S. Service Members.

Introduction: This study aimed to identify subgroups of active duty U.S. service members (ADSMs) based on physical activity levels and their association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors.

Coverage of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) within the active duty U.S. military, 2023.

Estimates of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) coverage in the U.S. military, defined as the proportion of the persons taking HIV PrEP out of the estimated number of persons who had indications for it, have never been published.

Tobacco and nicotine use among active component U.S. military service members: a comparison of 2018 estimates from the Health Related Behaviors Survey and the Periodic Health Assessment.

This study compared estimates of the prevalence of and risk factors for tobacco and nicotine use obtained from the 2018 Health Related Behaviors Survey (HRBS) and Periodic Health Assessment (PHA) survey. The HRBS and the PHA are important Department of Defense sources of data on health behavior collected from U.S.

Perceived Health Status and Medical Conditions Among US Active-Duty Service Members.

Purpose: This paper investigates the association between self-reported perceived health status and doctor-informed medical conditions among US active duty service members (ADSM).

Methods: Data are from the 2018 Health-Related Behaviors Survey - a cross-sectional survey weighted to represent the US military (N = 17166). Perceived good health status was defined as having a response choice of "good", "very good", or "excellent" to the question: Would you say your overall physical health is ___? Medical conditions were based on self-reported presence of nine clinical conditions.

Smoking and multiple sclerosis risk in black people: A nested case-control study.

Background: Smoking is a well-established risk factor for MS; however, it is not known whether its effect on disease risk varies by race/ethnicity.

Methods: We conducted a nested case-control study among US military personnel who have serum samples stored at the Department of Defense Serum Repository. We measured serum cotinine levels, a marker of tobacco smoke exposure, in 157 Black and 23 White individuals who developed MS during follow-up.

Viral hepatitis C, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2011-2020.

This study reports updated numbers and incidence rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among active component members of the U.S. military using a revised case definition during a 10-year surveillance period between 2011 and 2020.

Evaluation of the MSMR Surveillance Case Definition for Incident Cases of Hepatitis C.

The validity of military hepatitis C virus (HCV) surveillance data is uncertain due to the potential for misclassification introduced when using administrative databases for surveillance purposes. The objectives of this study were to assess the validity of the surveillance case definition used by the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report (MSMR) for HCV, the over and underestimation of cases from surveillance data, and the true burden of HCV disease in the U.S.

Quality and Integrated Service Delivery: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Effects of Malaria and Antenatal Service Quality on Malaria Intervention Use in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Using regionally linked facility and household surveys, we measured the quality of integrated antenatal care and malaria in pregnancy services in Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, and Tanzania. We examined country heterogeneities for the association of integrated antenatal and malaria service quality scores with insecticide-treated bed net (ITN) use in pregnant women and children under-five and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp-2) uptake. Malaria in pregnancy service quality was low overall.

Unintended pregnancy among U.S. military active duty servicemembers: Estimates for 2018 and trends since 2005.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of and factors associated with unintended pregnancy in the past 12 months among women and men in the United States (U.S.) military in 2018, as well as trends in unintended pregnancy between 2005 and 2018.

COVID-19 Booster Vaccination in the U.S. Military, August 2021-January 2022.

Introduction: A booster dose of messenger RNA vaccine protects against severe COVID-19 outcomes. This study examined the incidence of COVID-19 booster vaccination among active-duty U.S.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Infection and Hospitalization in the Active Component US Military.

To assess COVID-19 disparities in the active component US military with an emphasis on race and ethnicity. In this retrospective cohort study, we calculated the incidence of COVID-19 testing, infection, and hospitalization in the active component US military in calendar year 2020. Overall, 61.