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- Title
Self-Reported Health Indicators in the US Army: Longitudinal Analysis From a Population Surveillance System, 2014‒2018.
- Authors
Kegel, Jessica L.; Kazman, Josh B.; Clifton, Daniel R.; Deuster, Patricia A.; de la Motte, Sarah J.
- Abstract
Objectives. To describe health-related behaviors or indicators associated with overall health and well-being using the Global Assessment Tool (GAT), a health behavior and psychosocial questionnaire completed annually by US Army personnel. Methods. We analyzed GAT responses from 2014 to 2018, consisting of 367 000 to 449 000 respondents per year. We used generalized estimating equations to predict the presence of each health behavior or indicator, aggregated by year and stratified on various demographics. Results. Key findings included decreases from 2014 to 2018 in risky health behaviors such as hazardous drinking (7.5% decrease) and tobacco use (7.9% decrease), dietary supplement use (5.0% to 10.6% decrease, depending on type), self-reported musculoskeletal injury (5.1% decrease), and pain interference (3.6% decrease). Physical activity, sleep, and nutritional habits largely remained consistent over time. Conclusions. In the Army, tobacco, alcohol, and risky dietary supplement usage appears to be declining, whereas lifestyle health behaviors have been stable. Whether these trends reflect responses to health education is unknown. The GAT provides useful insights into the health of the Army, which can be leveraged when developing health-related educational programs and policies. Public Health Implications. Health behaviors that have changed less over time (e.g., nutrition, sleep) may require novel approaches compared with those that changed more (e.g., dietary supplement use, drinking). (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(11):2064–2074. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306456)
- Subjects
HEALTH of military personnel; SELF-evaluation; UNITED States. Army; PUBLIC health surveillance; HEALTH behavior; WELL-being; PSYCHOSOCIAL factors; ALCOHOL drinking; DIETARY supplements; SLEEP; ALCOHOLISM; RISK-taking behavior; FOOD habits; KEY performance indicators (Management); CONFIDENCE intervals; PHYSICAL activity; CLINICAL medicine; QUESTIONNAIRES; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; PSYCHOLOGY of military personnel; LONGITUDINAL method; TOBACCO
- Publication
American Journal of Public Health, 2021, Vol 111, Issue 11, p2064
- ISSN
0090-0036
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2105/ajph.2021.306456