Abstract

Background- Military personnel come from the general population and have the same epidemiological style for coronary artery disease (CAD). There are two significant questions: Is there a higher rate of premature CAD in military personnel in comparison with general population and does the risk factor profile in military personnel differ from that of the general population? The present study was designed to answer these questions. Methods- The present case control study was performed on all military and non-military patients referred to angiographic departments due to CAD symptoms between 2003 and 2005. We collected demographic data with major coronary risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and smoking (cigarette or pipe). We divided the recruited patients according the angiographic findings and the number of involved vessels into three groups. Results- Among the patients, 9709 (81) were affected by CAD. From this total, 3586 (36.93) were military and 6123 (63.07) were non-military patients. Premature CAD in the military personnel (868, 24.21) was significantly higher in the non-military (503, 8.3) persons (P=0.00). Diabetes and hypertension were significantly lower in the military personnel in comparison with the non-military group. Smoking in the military personnel was significantly higher than in the non-military group. There was a significant association between the number of risk factors and involved vessels in our participants. Conclusion- In light of the fact that the rate of premature CAD was higher in the military personnel in our study, we suggest that screening programs with sensitive tools might be necessary for an earlier detection of the military personnel at a higher risk of CAD.