Since the official introduction of laser refractive surgery into clinical practice throughout the Military Health System (MHS) in fiscal year 2000, these techniques have been heavily implemented in the tri-service community to better equip and improve the readiness of the U.S. military force.

This study examined monthly prevalence of obesity and exercise in active component U.S. military members prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic had a small effect on the trend of obesity in the active component U.S. military and that obesity prevalence continues to increase.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common adult joint disease and predominantly involves the weight-bearing joints. This condition, including spondylosis (OA of the spine), results in significant disability and resource utilization and is a leading cause of medical separation from military service.

Malaria infection remains an important health threat to U.S. service members who are located in endemic areas because of long-term duty assignments, participation in shorter-term contingency operations, or personal travel. In 2021, a total of 20 service members were diagnosed with or reported to have malaria.

Ocular injuries present an ongoing threat to readiness and retention of service members. This report describes a new approach to categorizing ocular injury using Military Health System data, the application of an algorithm to a dataset, and the verification of the results using an audit of clinical data.

This snapshot summarizes the total numbers of inpatient and outpatient encounters with an OA or spondylosis diagnosis in the first diagnostic position and the total numbers of unique individuals affected by these conditions during the same 5-year surveillance period.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection rates are rising in the U.S. despite widely available tools to identify and effectively treat nearly all of these cases. This cross-sectional study aimed to use laboratory data to evaluate the prevalence of HCV diagnoses among active component U.S. military service members.

Sepsis is a serious and life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. In the U.S., sepsis is a leading cause of in-hospital mortality and 1 of the most expensive conditions treated in U.S. hospitals.

This report describes an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, that peaked during 21–26 Feb. 2021 and was tied to a single military training event. A total of 143 laboratory-confirmed cases were identified.

This study examined the rates of depressive symptoms in active component U.S. service members prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluated whether SARS-CoV-2 test results (positive or negative) were associated with self-reported depressive symptoms.

Incident COVID-19 Infections, Active and Reserve Components, 1 January 2020–31 August 2021

Osteoarthritis (OA), the most com­mon adult joint disease, is primarily a degenerative disorder of the entire joint organ, including the subchondral bone, synovium, and periarticular structures (e.g., tendons, ligaments, bursae). Spondylosis, often referred to as OA of the spine, is characterized by degenerative changes in the vertebral discs, joints, ...

Donovanosis, or granuloma inguinale, is an uncommon sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is much rarer than chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Donovanosis is found mainly in tropical regions, and is highly correlated with populations affected by poverty and lack of access to hygiene and public health infrastructure. However, recent news reports ...

Sepsis Hospitalizations Among Active Component Service Members, U.S. Armed Forces, 2011–2020

Plant dermatitis is an allergic inflammatory skin reaction in response to the oils of poisonous plants. In the U.S., the most common dermatitis-causing plant genus is the Toxicodendron (formerly Rhus). Approximately 50%–75% of the U.S. adult population are susceptible to skin reactions upon exposure to Toxicodendron oil or oleoresin, called urushiol.