Skip to main content

Military Health System

Test of Sitewide Banner

This is a test of the sitewide banner capability. In the case of an emergency, site visitors would be able to visit the news page for addition information.

Surveillance Snapshot: Medical Separation from Service Among Incident Cases of Osteoarthritis and Spondylosis, Active Component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2016–2020

Image of Cover 5. Marines hike to the next training location during Exercise Baccarat in Aveyron, Occitanie, France, Oct.16, 2021. Exercise Baccarat is a three-week joint exercise with Marines and the French Foreign Legion that challenges forces with physical and tactical training. Photo By: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jennifer Reyes

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common adult joint disease and predominantly involves the weight-bearing joints.1 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.2 A recent MSMR analysis described the incidence of OA and spondylosis diagnoses among active component service members of the U.S. Armed Forces from 2016 through 2020.3 During the 5-year surveillance period, crude overall rates of incident OA and spondylosis diagnoses were 630.9 per 100,000 person-years (p-yrs) and 958.2 per 100,000 p-yrs, respectively.3 Anatomic site-specific rates of OA varied by sex, race/ethnicity group, service, and military occupation.3

In this analysis, the numbers and percentages of incident cases of OA and/or spondylosis with a medical separation after the incident diagnosis (through 31 July 2021) were stratified by selected demographic and military characteristics. Separations from service were categorized as having been for medical reasons using interservice separation (ISC) codes (1010, 1011, 1012, 1013, 1014, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013).

Among a total of 94,036 unique individuals who qualified as incident cases of OA and/or spondylosis during 2016–2020, 17.9% (n=16,819) were medically separated from service by July 31, 2021 (data not shown). The median time from incident OA and/or spondylosis diagnosis and separation from military service was 430 days (mean=506 days) (data not shown). Median times to separation were broadly similar by demographic characteristics (sex, age group, and race/ethnicity group) with more pronounced differences apparent by service; the median time to separation was lowest for Army and Marine Corps members (392 days and 447 days, respectively) and highest for Air Force members (553 days) (data not shown). The percentages of incident cases aged 34 years or younger (range=23.3%–36.5%) who were medically separated were higher than the percentages among those aged 35 or older (range=5.9%–12.2%) (Figure). Army members with incident diagnoses of OA and/or spondylosis were more likely to be medically separated compared to their respective counterparts in the other services.

References

1. Abramoff B, Caldera FE. Osteoarthritis: Pathology, diagnosis, and treatment options. Med Clin North Am. 2020;104(2):293–311.

2. Patzkowski JC, Rivera JC, Ficke JR, Wenke JC. The changing face of disability in the US Army: the Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom effect. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2012;20 (Suppl 1):S23.

3. Williams VF, Ying S, Stahlman S. Update: Osteoarthritis and spondylosis, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2016–2020. MSMR. 2021;28(12):2–13.

FIGURE. Percentages of service members with incident OA and/or spondylosis diagnoses during 2016–2020 who were medically separated from military service, active component, U.S. Armed Forces

You also may be interested in...

MSMR volume 30 issue 3 March 2023

Report
3/1/2023

March 2023 issue of MSMR, the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report

Letter to the Editor: Military Health System Exceeded Healthy People 2020 Goal for Rotavirus Vaccination

Article
3/1/2023
Logo800x480MSMR

Letter to the Editor commenting on November 2033 (volume 29 issue 11) MSMR Brief Report, "Pediatric Vaccine Completion and Compliance Among Infants Born to Active Duty Service Members, 2006-2016"

Notice to Readers: Vector-borne Disease Branch Detects Borrelia miyamotoi in Human Tick Submission

Article
3/1/2023
female Ixodes scapularis or deer tick

Notice of emerging tick-borne pathogen detected in January 2023 by the Vector-Borne Disease (VBD) Branch of the Defense Center Public Health-Aberdeen (DCPH-A)

Update: Malaria Among Members of the U.S. Armed Forces, 2013–2022

Article
3/1/2023
Mosquito trap

This article provides an annual update of rates and incident infections of malaria species among U.S. service members.

Medical Surveillance Monthly Report Volume 30 Number 2, February 2023

Report
2/1/2023

This issue of the peer-reviewed monthly journal published by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division (AFHSD) features the articles: Changing of the Guard: MSMR’s Second Editor-in-Chief Retires; Brief Report: Hospitalizations Among Active Duty Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Fiscal Year 2021; Historical Perspective: The Critical Role of Disease and Non-Battle Injuries in Soldiers Isolated on Pacific Islands During the Second World War; From the Editor’s Desk.

Changing of the Guard: MSMR’s Second Editor-in-Chief Retires

Article
2/1/2023
Changing of the Guard: MSMR’s Second Editor-in-Chief Retires

Retrospective of Dr. Francis L. O’Donnell’s 11-year tenure as MSMR’s Editor in Chief

Brief Report: Hospitalizations Among Active Duty Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Fiscal Year 2021

Article
2/1/2023
HospitalizationsCoastGuard

This brief report presents United States Coast Guard hospitalization data for fiscal year 2021 and examines its data completeness, as annual Department of Defense data have not included Coast Guard data since 2015, and describes differences in utilization.

From the Editor's Desk

Article
2/1/2023
From the Editor's Desk

The new MSMR Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Andrew Wiesen, a retired Army physician, provides his perspective on the importance of the MSMR and his expectations for its future.

Historical Perspective: The Critical Role of Disease and Non-Battle Injuries in Soldiers Isolated on Pacific Islands During the Second World War

Article
2/1/2023
SoldiersPacificWWII

This Historical Perspective discusses catastrophic casualties among U.S. and Japanese forces due to failed supply lines during World War II in the Pacific.

MSMR Vol. 30 No. 1 - January 2023

Report
1/1/2023

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Incidence and management of chronic insomnia, active component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2012 to 2021; Changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity and in the incidence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, active component service members, U.S. Armed Forces, 2018 to 2021; Trends in the incidence of eating disorders among active component service members, 2017 to 2021.

Incidence and Management of Chronic Insomnia, Active Component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2012 to 2021

Article
1/1/2023
Incidence and Management of Chronic Insomnia, Active Component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2012 to 2021

Incidence and Management of Chronic Insomnia, Active Component, U.S. Armed Forces, 2012 to 2021.

Increased Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity and Incidence of Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Active Component Service Members, U.S. Armed Forces, 2018 to 2021

Article
1/1/2023
Trends in the incidence of eating disorders among active component service members, 2017 to 2021.

Increased Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity and Incidence of Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Active Component Service Members, U.S. Armed Forces, 2018 to 2021.

Trends in the Incidence of Eating Disorders Among Active Component Service Members, 2017 to 2021

Article
1/1/2023
Changes in the prevalence of overweight and obesity and in the incidence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, active component service members, U.S. Armed Forces, 2018 to 2021.

Trends in the Incidence of Eating Disorders Among Active Component Service Members, 2017 to 2021.

MSMR Vol. 29 No. 12 - December 2022

Report
12/1/2022

A monthly publication of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division. This issue of the peer-reviewed journal contains the following articles: Surveillance trends for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens among U.S. Military Health System Beneficiaries, Sept. 27, 2020 – Oct. 2,2021; Establishment of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance within the MHS during March 1 – Dec. 31 2020; Suicide behavior among heterosexual, lesbian/gay, and bisexual active component service members in the U.S. Armed Forces; Brief report: Phase I results using the Virtual Pooled Registry Cancer Linkage system (VPR-CLS) for military cancer surveillance.

Seroepidemiologic Investigation of a COVID-19 Outbreak Aboard a U.S. Navy Ship

Article
12/1/2022
Cover 1

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has been responsible for the largest respiratory illness pandemic since the influenza pandemic of 1918.

Page 1 of 15 , showing items 1 - 15
First < 1 2 3 4 5  ... > Last 
Refine your search
Last Updated: May 20, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery