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The following is a summary of “Incidence and Health Care Burden of Uterine Fibroids Among Female Service Members in the Active Component of the U.S. Armed Forces, 2011–2022,” published in the February 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Nieh et al.
Uterine fibroids, the most common benign uterine tumors among women of reproductive age, disproportionately affect non-Hispanic Black women compared to other racial and ethnic groups. This condition has significant implications for female service members’ health and military readiness in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study investigating the incidence and healthcare burden among women with uterine fibroids actively serving in the military.
They identified new uterine fibroid cases from inpatient and outpatient medical data, including diagnostic and procedure codes (2011 and 2022). The healthcare burden was estimated by analyzing medical encounters and hospital bed days related to uterine fibroids. Crude incidence rates and incidence rate ratios were calculated to compare differences across demographic subpopulations (age, race, ethnicity, and service branch).
The results showed 16,046 new uterine fibroid cases with an incidence rate of 63.5 per 10,000 person-years (95% CI: 62.5–64.5). The highest incidence rates were among service members 40 years and older, non-Hispanic Black women, and those serving in the Army. Although medical encounters and the number of individuals affected increased, uterine fibroid-related hospital bed days decreased over time, likely due to earlier diagnoses and minimally invasive treatments.
They concluded that promoting awareness and early detection of uterine fibroids could further reduce their impact on military readiness.
Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10959453/
