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283587
Value of surveys to identify modifiable causes and risk factors for injuries in hard to follow populations: Example from deployed male US army soldiers


Sunday, November 3, 2013

Ryan Steelman, USAIPH, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Michelle Canham Chervak, PhD, MPH, Injury Prevention Program, U.S. Army Institute of Public Health, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Tyson Grier, MS, Injury Prevention Program, U.S. Army Institute of Public Health, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Jason Butler, MPH, Injury Prevention, U.S. Army Institute of Public Health, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD
Morgan K. Anderson, MPH, CPH, Injury Prevention Program, U.S. Army Institute of Public Health, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Timothy T. Bushman, MS, Injury Prevention Program, U.S. Army Institute of Public Health, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Bruce H. Jones, MD, MPH, Injury Prevention Program, U.S. Army Institute of Public Health, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
Injuries are a leading health problem for the US Army, but knowledge concerning deployment-related injuries is limited. Purpose: Identify modifiable injury risk factors for male U.S. Army Soldiers during deployment. Methods: Participants were 1,960 males from a light infantry brigade who recently returned from deployment. Personal characteristics, physical activity, health risk behaviors and injury during deployment were collected by questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: Participants were 27.5±5.8 years of age. Injury incidence during deployment was 30.4% with 74.2% of injuries being new injuries. Activities in which an injury occurred included: Lifting or moving heavy objects (19.9%), walking, hiking, or marching (19.7%), Unit physical training (15.7%), stepping or climbing (10.6%) and sports/recreation (4.1%). Older, heavier males had a higher risk of injury compared to younger Soldiers and Soldiers within normal weight limits (OR(31 years or older/younger than 22 years)= 1.80, 95%CI 1.20-2.69) and (OR(Obese/Normal)= 2.17, 95%CI 1.40-3.36), respectively. Deployed males averaging 7 or more miles per day foot patrolling had a higher injury risk than those averaging 2 or less miles per day (OR(7or more/2 or less)= 2.23, 95%CI 1.40-3.56). In addition, results suggested that those participating in sports 3 or more times per week were less likely to be injured than those participating less than 3 times per week (OR(3 or more/less than3)= 0.65, 95%CI 0.41-1.05). Conclusions: BMI, foot patrol distance, and sports participation are modifiable injury risk factors among deployed male Army Soldiers.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Identify modifiable injury risk factors for male U.S. Army Soldiers during deployment.

Keyword(s): Injury Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a principal or co-principal investigator on various federally funded studies looking at injuries and health among recruits and soldiers in the United States Armed Forces.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.