Military service branch differences in alcohol use, tobacco use, prescription drug misuse, and mental health conditions

Overweight/obesity, gestational weight gain, postpartum weight retention, and maternal/neonatal complications in the military

“…Our findings indicate that women in the Navy were also at slightly higher risk for substantial PPWR compared with women in the Army. These results may reflect characteristics of women who join various military branches [45] weighing measurements taken at home to the providers' secure message system is another possibility to provide a more frequent measure of weight and facilitate healthier GWG [46]. Given the clear importance of GWG and PPWR on military readiness and the costs to the nation's largest health care/insurance provider, the Military Health System may find it beneficial to track the prevalence of GWG and substantial PPWR in response to new policies or pregnancy/postpartum-focused interventions.…”

“…Our findings indicate that women in the Navy were also at slightly higher risk for substantial PPWR compared with women in the Army. These results may reflect characteristics of women who join various military branches [45] or may reflect policies and programs (e.g., providing time for exercise during work hours) during and after pregnancy that may facilitate or hinder healthy GWG or weight loss post partum. For example, in 2018, the Army created a mandatory physical training program, P3T , for women during and after pregnancy to help them reintegrate into their unit's physical training and satisfactorily pass their fitness examination at 12 months post partum (CASCOM Policy 18–15, 2018), in contrast to other branches, which have self‐paced programs.…”

Alcohol use disorder as a moderator of the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and suicidality among military personnel

“…While the suicide rate among civilians has also been steadily rising (Ramchand et al., 2021), service members face a unique constellation of risk factors. Frequent exposure to potentially traumatic events and a culture of alcohol consumption have made posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) common among service members, estimated to affect 3.9%–10.5% and 26.1%–48.6%, respectively, depending on branch of service (Schuler et al., 2022). Both disorders increase the likelihood of suicidal behavior (Forehand et al., 2022; Hill et al., 2021).…”