Early mortality experience in a large military cohort and a comparison of mortality data sources

Table 2 Age-Adjusted, Category-Specific Death Rates^a Comparing Panel 1 Participants and Non-Participants for the Millennium Cohort Study, United States, July 1, 2001-December 31, 2006

Baseline Characteristics	Panel 1 Participants^b n= 76,960 No. of deaths (per 100,000 person-years)	Panel 1 Non-Participants^c n= 132,186 No. of deaths (per 100,000 person-years)
Gender
Male	82.2	132.1
Female	56.4	62.8
Race/ethnicity
White non-Hispanic	77.2	117.6
Black non-Hispanic	61.7	115.4
Other	66.8	111.2
Marital status
Not married	84.2	125.0
Married	75.9	97.4
Divorced	57.0	110.0
Education
High school or less	85.3	135.5
Some college	66.6	87.9
Bachelor's degree	65.2	92.1
Advanced degree	35.2	56.2
Service component
Reserve/National Guard	80.3	112.1
Active duty	63.6	111.4
Branch of service
Army	78.7	137.8
Air Force	64.9	81.5
Navy/Coast Guard	60.4	110.2
Marine Corps	73.2	167.2
Military pay grade
Enlisted	77.4	121.4
Officer	64.0	81.5
Occupational category
Combat specialists	104.5	150.7
Health care specialists	60.0	88.7
Service supply and functional support	65.8	98.3
Other	69.7	115.7
Deployment experience^d
Pre-2001	73.7	147.4
2001-2006	61.7	71.5
Pre-2001 and 2001-2006	46.3	92.7
None	77.8	130.9
Separated from military service^e
No	80.2	129.3
Yes	51.8	77.2

^a Number of deaths per 100,000 person years between Jul 1, 2001 and Dec 31, 2006, adjusted for birth year, standardized to the total US military as of October 1, 2000. Data sources include Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Defense Manpower Data Center.
^b Includes Panel 1 Millennium Cohort participants who enrolled in the study between July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2003, and had complete demographic data.
^c Includes service members who had complete demographic data, were presumed alive as of June 30, 2001, were able to be contacted by mail and were invited to enroll in the first panel of the Millennium Cohort Study, but either declined, did not respond, or were ineligible.
^d Deployment category "Pre-2001" refers to individuals deployed to the 1991 Gulf War or to Bosnia, Kosovo, or Southwest Asia between January 1, 1998, and September 30, 2000; the category "2001-2006" includes individuals deployed in support of the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan between September 1, 2001, and December 31, 2006.
^e Separation (retirement or early separation) from military service as of December 31, 2006 (excludes death as a reason for separation).

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