Joint Association Of Physical Activity And Veteran Status With Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence: Findings From BRFSS

PURPOSE: Investigate the joint association of physical activity (PA) and veteran status on cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevalence. METHODS: This cross-sectional analysis included 276,077 adults ≥18 yrs (50.6% female) from the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Participants reporting ever serving on active military duty were classified as veterans (11.3%). Self-report PA was used to determine meeting aerobic (≥150 min/wk), strength (≥2 days/wk), neither, or both PA guidelines. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD), and CVD (MI, stroke, or CHD) across 8 joint categories of veteran status and PA after adjusting for potential confounders. Complex sampling procedures were used to maintain nationally representative estimates. RESULTS: Adjusted prevalence of MI, stroke, and CHD in veterans and non-veterans was 9.7%, 5.9%, and 10.0%, and 4.1%, 3.5% and 4.1%, respectively. See table 1 for results. In non-veterans, meeting strength only or neither guideline was associated with higher odds of MI, stroke, CHD, and CVD compared to non-veterans meeting both guidelines. In veterans, meeting strength only or neither guideline was associated with higher odds of MI and stroke compared to non-veterans meeting both guidelines, however, meeting aerobic only or neither guideline was associated with higher odds of CHD. Odds of CVD was higher in all veterans not achieving both guidelines compared to non-veterans meeting both guidelines. CONCLUSION: Veterans had higher prevalence of CVDs compared to non-veterans. Regardless of veteran status, meeting strength only or neither guideline was associated with higher prevalence of CVDs, with the highest odds consistently observed in veterans. Prospective studies to examine whether veteran status alters the relationship between PA and CVD are warranted.