Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

The Health Status of the U.S. Veteran Post COVID: A Longitudinal Analysis (2011-2021) Utilizing the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Data

Jose A. Betancourt
* ORCID logo ,
Diane M. Dolezel
,
Ramalingam Shanmugam
,
Gerardo J. Pacheco
ORCID logo ,
Paula Stigler Granados
,
Lawrence V. Fulton
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 9 June 2023 / Approved: 12 June 2023 / Online: 12 June 2023 (09:32:26 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Betancourt, J.A.; Dolezel, D.M.; Shanmugam, R.; Pacheco, G.J.; Stigler Granados, P.; Fulton, L.V. The Health Status of the US Veterans: A Longitudinal Analysis of Surveillance Data Prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2049. Betancourt, J.A.; Dolezel, D.M.; Shanmugam, R.; Pacheco, G.J.; Stigler Granados, P.; Fulton, L.V. The Health Status of the US Veterans: A Longitudinal Analysis of Surveillance Data Prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2049.

Abstract

Chronic diseases affect a disproportionate number of United States (U.S.) Veterans, causing significant long-term health issues and affecting entitlement spending. This longitudinal study examined the health status of U.S. Veterans as compared to non-Veterans pre- and post-COVID utilizing the annual Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey data. Age-adjusted descriptive point estimates were generated independently for 2003 through 2021, while complex weighted panel data were generated from 2011 and onward. General linear modeling revealed that the average U.S. Veteran reports a higher prevalence of disease conditions except for mental health disorders when compared to the non-Veteran. These findings were consistent with both pre- and post-COVID, however, both groups reported a higher prevalence of mental health issues during the pandemic years. The findings suggest that there have been no improvements in reducing Veteran comorbidities to non-Veteran levels and that COVID adversely affected the mental health of both populations.

Keywords

U.S. Veteran health; Comorbidities; Risk-factors; Military readiness; COVID

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Health Policy and Services

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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