Abstract Comparison of Health and Health Behaviorsbetween California Veterans and California Residents

Аннотация

The objective of this study was to examine a number of health-related variables in order to determine if there was a greater prevalence of smoking, excess weight and obesity, heart disease, and diabetes among military veterans when compared to the general population. A retrospective secondary database analysis was performed on data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey. Veterans were predicted to have poorer health (e.g., having diabetes and/or heart disease) or more likely to engage in behaviors detrimental to their health such as smoking. The results supported the hypotheses: California veterans were more likely to smoke cigarettes, be overweight or obese than non-veterans; they were also more likely to report suffering from heart disease or diabetes mellitus than non-veterans. Further studies are warranted to determine the reasons why veterans have poorer health and health behaviors than the general population.