Use of electronic cigarettes among U.S. Military service members - prevalence and associated risk factors.

Background: Decreased physical fitness, loss of vision and hearing, and increased risk of chronic diseases are significant primary and secondary implications associated with the health of U.S. Military Service members who use tobacco, including electronic cigarettes.

Diabetes and Overall Survival among Breast Cancer Patients in the U.S. Military Health System.

Although research suggests that type II diabetes mellitus (DM-2) is associated with overall and breast cancer-specific decreased survival, most prior studies of breast cancer survival investigated the effect of preexisting DM-2 without assessing the effect of DM-2 diagnosed at or after breast cancer diagnosis. This study examined the relationship between DM-2 diagnosed before and after breast cancer diagnosis and overall survival. This study uses linked Department of Defense cancer registry and medical claims data from 9,398 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1998 and 2007.

Adjuvant radioactive iodine use among differentiated thyroid cancer patients in the military health system.

Objective: Adjuvant radioactive iodine (RAI) for the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer has been associated with better prognosis, but no consensus has been reached on the best practices for RAI. Limited data on RAI use and factors associated with the receipt of postoperative RAI in the general population are available and, to our knowledge, no data on RAI use among the U.S.

Colon cancer treatment: are there racial disparities in an equal-access healthcare system?

Background: In the general US population, blacks and whites have been shown to undergo colon cancer treatment at disproportionate rates. Accessibility to medical care may be the most important factor influencing differences in colon cancer treatment rates among whites and blacks.

Objective: We assessed whether racial disparities in colon cancer surgery and chemotherapy existed in an equal-access health care system.

Colon cancer lymph node evaluation among military health system beneficiaries: an analysis by race/ethnicity.

Background: The number of lymph nodes examined during colon cancer surgery falls below nationally recommended guidelines in the general population, with Blacks and Hispanics less likely to have adequate nodal evaluation in comparison to Whites. The Department of Defense's (DoD) Military Health System (MHS) provides equal access to medical care for its beneficiaries, regardless of racial/ethnic background. This study aimed to investigate whether racial/ethnic treatment differences exist in the MHS, an equal-access medical care system.

Surveillance mammography among female Department of Defense beneficiaries: a study by race and ethnicity.

Background: Annual surveillance mammography is recommended after a diagnosis of breast cancer. Previous studies have suggested that surveillance mammography varies by demographics and initial tumor characteristics, which are related to an individual's access to health care. The Military Health System of the Department of Defense provides beneficiaries with equal access health care and thus offers an excellent opportunity to assess whether racial differences in surveillance mammography persist when access to care is equal.