Global prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in the military population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Fereshteh Baygi,Shirin Djalalinia,Armita Mahdavi Ghorabi,Hamid Asayesh,Olaf Chresten Jensen,Kimmo Herttua,Mostafa Qorbani

doi:10.1186/s12902-020-0489-6

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough there are numerous studies on the global prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) in military personnel, the pooled prevalence of CMRFs in this population remains unclear. We aimed to systematically review the literature on the estimation of the global prevalence of CMRFs in the military population.MethodsWe simultaneously searched PubMed and NLM Gateway (for MEDLINE), Institute of Scientific Information (ISI), and SCOPUS with using standard keywords. All papers published up to March 2018 were reviewed. Two independent reviewers assessed papers and extracted the data. Chi-square-based Q test was used to assess the heterogeneity of reported prevalence among studies. The overall prevalence of all CMRFs, including overweight, obesity, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high total cholesterol (TC), high triglyceride (TG), low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), hypertension (HTN) and high fasting blood sugar (FBS) was estimated by using the random effects meta-analysis. A total of 37 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the meta-analysis.ResultsAccording the random effect meta-analysis, the global pooled prevalence (95% confidence interval) of MetS, high LDL, high TC, high TG, low HDL and high FBS were 21% (17–25), 32% (27–36), 34% (10–57), 24% (16–31), 28% (17–38) and 9% (5–12), respectively. Moreover, global pooled prevalence of overweight, generalized obesity, abdominal obesity and HTN were estimated to be 35% (31–39), 14% (13–16), 29% (20–39) and 26 (19–34), respectively.ConclusionsThe overall prevalence of some cardio-metabolic risk factors was estimated to be higher in military personnel. Therefore, the necessary actions should be taken to reduce risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.Systematic review registration number in PROSPEROCRD42018103345

Highlights

There are numerous studies on the global prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) in military personnel, the pooled prevalence of CMRFs in this population remains unclear
There was considerable variation in the overall prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factors was considerable among military personnel
The findings suggest that implementing interventions for the control of cardio-metabolic risk factors among military personnel seems necessary

Summary

Introduction

There are numerous studies on the global prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) in military personnel, the pooled prevalence of CMRFs in this population remains unclear. Studies conducted on subjects over the past 20 years revealed that overweight, obesity, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are the four leading causes of risk factors with the highest share of cardiovascular diseases [2, 3]. Sociodemographic factors (e.g. age, race and ethnicity), health behaviors (e.g. smoking, physical activity) and neuropsychiatric outcomes (depression, post-traumatic disorders) play a decisive role in the development of Mets [4,5,6]. Some of these factors are independently associated with military service [7, 8]. It has been reported that military personnel with their heavy responsibilities are more likely to expose a greater risk of developing cardiovascular risk factors [10, 11]

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