Development and Validation of a Risk Score for Predicting Cardiovascular Events in Women Military Service Members

Abstract

The proposed study addresses the topic area of “Women’s Heart Disease” with a specific topic of “retrospective studies to determining risk and incidence of heart disease among former and current female active duty personnel.” Representation of former and current female active duty personnel in the U.S. military population has been rapidly growing since the 1990s, and this trend is expected to continue. Current and former military Service members are at a significantly higher risk of heart failure and cardiovascular incidents than civilians in male Veterans. However, little has been studied about cardiovascular risk and incidence specific to women Service members. Understanding this is particularly important in delivering the care needed for better health with an ever-growing number of current active duty women military Service members and aging women Veterans. The current study proposes a retrospective study using a state-of-the-art statistical approach and large, representative national Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) electronic health records to develop a predictive risk score for women Service members. The goal of the study is to propose a new 10-year risk score that predicts cardiovascular incidence for the women military Service members. This study’s findings will contribute to a better management and treatment of cardiovascular disease for former and current active duty female military Service members at VA healthcare systems. This study is innovative, cost-effective, and time-conducive in introducing a state-of-the-art approach and using existing VA electronic health records. The study findings will provide much-needed guidance and evidence to VA healthcare providers in treating women Service members at all stages of their heart disease development and progression. The proposed approach in the study will be easily applied to other chronic disease risk assessments that women military Service members are at high risk of. Thus, the study’s objectives and findings are consonant with the Department of Defense’s mission to improve women Service members’ health.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Oct 29, 2018
Source ID
W81XWH1810159

Entities

People

  • Haekyung Jeon-slaughter

Organizations

  • Dallas VA Medical Center
  • United States Army

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Care for Military Service Members and Veterans with Limb Loss or Disability.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics