Online Program

284118
Association of health behaviors and risk factors for injury: A study of military personnel


Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 5:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Morgan K. Anderson, MPH, CPH, 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
Michelle Canham Chervak, PhD, MPH, 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
PURPOSE: To document injury rates and associated risk factors in a physically active population. METHODS: Data on personal fitness training, Army physical fitness test (APFT) results, health risk behaviors, and injury during the last 12 months were collected by survey. APFT results were converted into quartiles (Q), where Q1= low performance and Q4 = high performance. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were obtained from multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Among the 2,287 male soldiers surveyed (mean age = 26.7 ± 6.0, range 17-50), injury incidence was 42%. Over half of injured Soldiers (57%) were placed on limited duty, with 36% placed on limited duty ≥ 30 days. The most common diagnosis was sprain or strain (48%), followed by fracture (11%). Leading causes of sprains/strains included repetitive movement/overexertion (42%) and slips/trips/falls (35%). Leading causes of fractures were slips/trips/falls (43%) and exercising/walking/road marching (27%). Males with the slowest run times (i.e., lowest aerobic fitness) had higher injury risk compared to those with highest aerobic fitness (OR (Q1/Q4) =1.81, 95%CI 1.31-2.51). Smokers experienced higher injury risk (OR (smoker/nonsmoker) = 1.26, 95%CI 1.03-1.54), as did soldiers with a higher body mass index (BMI) ≥30 (OR (BMI ≥30/BMI 18.5-24.9) = 1.54, 95%CI 1.08-2.19). CONCLUSION: Injury risk factors in this Army unit included higher BMI, smoking, lower aerobic fitness, and activities where falls, slips, or trips may be common. Implementation of countermeasures to improve aerobic fitness, reduce body fat, and prevent slips/trips/falls, should reduce the incidence of injuries in similar physically active populations.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate injury rates in U.S. Army Soldiers MOS groups. Identify potential modifible injury risk factors in U.S. Army Soldiers MOS groups.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Michele Canham has been an injury epidemiologist with experience in public health practice for 15 years. She served as co-chair of the APHAs injury served as program reviewer for APHA’s injury section and as an epidemiologist at the U.S. Army Ctr. for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, U.S Army Public Health Command (Provisional), Injury Prevention Program. She published widely on injury prevention including in the U.S. military.
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.

Back to: 4402.0: Occupational injuries