Hypertension in a Population of Active Duty Service Members

Brian A. Smoley; Nicholas L. Smith; Guy P. Runkle

doi:10.3122/jabfm.2008.06.070182

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Table 1.

Characteristics of Active Duty Service Members Stationed at Fort Lewis Who Completed the Health Risk Assessment Between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2004

Characteristic	Age Group (years)
Characteristic	17 to 24 (n = 7105)	25 to 39 (n = 6677)	40 to 65 (n = 1609)	All (n = 15,391)
Mean age [years (SD)]	21.1 (1.9)	30.7 (4.3)	45.0 (4.6)	27.8 (8.2)
Mean systolic blood pressure [mm Hg (SD)]	124.7 (11.4)	128.4 (11.5)	130.6 (12.8)	126.9 (11.7)
Mean diastolic blood pressure [mm Hg (SD)]	65.2 (8.7)	71.5 (9.4)	76.6 (9.9)	69.1 (9.9)
Mean body mass index [kg/m² (SD)]	24.4 (3.2)	26.3 (3.5)	27.0 (3.6)	25.5 (3.5)
Medicine for hypertension (%)	22 (0.3)	102 (1.5)	161 (10.0)	285 (1.9)
Women (%)	981 (13.8)	740 (11.1)	182 (11.3)	1903 (12.4)
Race/ethnicity (%)
White	4189 (59.0)	3794 (56.8)	900 (55.9)	8883 (57.7)
Black	677 (9.5)	878 (13.1)	221 (13.7)	1776 (11.5)
Hispanic	1185 (16.7)	1027 (15.4)	255 (15.8)	2467 (16.0)
Other	1054 (14.8)	978 (14.6)	233 (14.5)	2265 (14.7)
Rank (%)
Junior enlisted	6115 (86.1)	2244 (33.6)	123 (7.6)	8482 (55.1)
Senior rank	990 (13.9)	4433 (66.4)	1486 (92.4)	6909 (44.9)

SD, standard deviation.

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Table 2.

Prevalence of Hypertension by Age Group Among Active Duty Service Members Stationed at Fort Lewis

Characteristic	Age Group (Years)
Characteristic	17 to 24	25 to 39	40 to 65	All	P^*
Overall (%)	560 (7.9)	966 (14.5)	438 (27.2)	1964 (12.8)	<.01
Sex (%)
Men	534 (8.7)	914 (15.4)	395 (27.7)	1843 (13.7)	<.01
Women	26 (2.7)	52 (7.0)	43 (23.6)	121 (6.4)	<.01
P^†	<.01	<.01	.25	<.01
Race/ethnicity (%)
White	357 (8.5)	516 (13.6)	227 (25.2)	1100 (12.4)	<.01
Black	63 (9.3)	176 (20.0)	75 (33.9)	314 (17.7)	<.01
Hispanic	74 (6.2)	128 (12.5)	79 (31.0)	281 (11.4)	<.01
Other	66 (6.3)	146 (14.9)	57 (24.5)	269 (11.9)	<.01
P^†	.01	<.01	.02	<.01
Rank (%)
Junior enlisted	453 (7.4)	264 (11.8)	35 (28.5)	752 (8.9)	<.01
Senior rank	107 (10.8)	702 (15.8)	403 (27.1)	1212 (17.5)	<.01
P^†	<.01	<.01	.75	<.01

† χ² comparisons within age groups.
* χ² test for trend across age categories.

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Table 3.

Associations Between Hypertension and Study Subject Characteristics

Characteristic	OR (95% CI)^*
Age (per 1-year increase)	1.04 (1.04 to 1.05)
Body mass index (per kg/m² increase)	1.13 (1.12 to 1.15)
Male	1.96 (1.61 to 2.39)
Race/ethnicity
White	1.00 (reference)
Black	1.52 (1.31 to 1.75)
Hispanic	0.87 (0.75 to 1.00)
Other	0.99 (0.85 to 1.14)
Senior rank	1.23 (1.09 to 1.39)

* Odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) simultaneously adjusted for all characteristics.

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Table 4.

Blood Pressure Categories Among Active Duty Service Members (Fort Lewis) Not Taking Medicine for High Blood Pressure

Characteristic	Blood Pressure Category
Characteristic	Normal	Prehypertension	Stage 1 Hypertension	Stage 2 Hypertension
Overall	n = 3867	n = 9560	n = 1535	n = 144
Age groups (%)
17 to 24 years	2271 (32.1)	4274 (60.3)	508 (7.2)	30 (0.4)
25 to 39 years	1339 (20.4)	4372 (66.5)	787 (12.0)	77 (1.2)
40 to 65 years	257 (17.7)	914 (63.1)	240 (16.6)	37 (2.6)
Sex (%)
Men	2988 (22.6)	8657 (65.4)	1453 (11.0)	134 (1.0)
Women	879 (46.9)	903 (48.2)	82 (4.4)	10 (0.5)
Race/ethnicity (%)
White	2241 (25.6)	5542 (63.4)	888 (10.2)	71 (0.8)
Black	404 (23.8)	1058 (62.2)	207 (12.2)	31 (1.8)
Hispanic	631 (25.9)	1555 (63.9)	226 (9.3)	20 (0.8)
Other	591 (26.5)	1405 (62.9)	214 (9.6)	22 (1.0)
Rank (%)
Junior enlisted	2548 (30.2)	5182 (61.5)	647 (7.7)	54 (0.6)
Senior rank	1319 (19.8)	4378 (65.6)	888 (13.3)	90 (1.3)