title: Comparison of chronic disease prevalence between U.S. Navy ships without medical doctors and a similar shore-based population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Most U.S. Navy ships operate without embarked physicians, employing Independent Duty Corpsmen to provide primary and emergency medical care to crewmembers. We sought to characterize the burden of chronic disease faced by Independent Duty Corpsmen aboard Navy ships and compare it to that of a similar shore-based population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted cross-sectional analyses of shipboard and shore-based samples using 1,305 records from Norfolk, Virginia-based U.S. Navy ships without doctors between March and May 2007, and records for Norfolk shore-based sailors from the same time frame matched 3:1 on age, sex, and race against the shipboard sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Asthma prevalence was 2.0% and 5.9% for the shipboard and shore-based samples, respectively (p < 0.0001). Cervical dysplasia among women was 16.2% and 23.1% (p = 0.3687). Depression was 4.6% and 8.4% (p < 0.0001). Diabetes was 1.0% and 2.3% (p = 0.0096). Hyperlipidemia was 20.6% and 21.4% (p = 0.5597). Hypertension was 25.5% and 36.1% (p < 0.0001). Total prevalence for any of the above conditions was 42.5% and 50.9% (p = 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Over 42% of shipboard sailors have one or more chronic health conditions. Even though the studied conditions were significantly less prevalent aboard ship than in the comparable shore-based sample, nonphysician practitioners aboard ships must be prepared to diagnose and treat chronic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Building A, Room A1040-A, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
authors.forename: Edward S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Hurd
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Rockswold
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Westphal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D009326:Naval Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010820:Physicians / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012767:Ships; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult