title: Review of non-battle injuries in Air Force personnel deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
abstract: This study examines non-battle injuries among U.S. Air Force members deployed during Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. A cohort of 275,843 Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve members were identified for the period September 11, 2001 through October 31, 2006. Data on injuries were obtained from electronic medical records and deployment time was obtained from manpower records. Poisson regression was used to estimate adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs). The most common non-battle injuries were sprains and strains (53%) followed by open wounds (27%). Guard and Reserve members tended to have a lower rate of orthopedic non-battle injuries than Active Duty members in crude analyses and after adjustment for age, previous deployment, sex, race/ethnicity, and occupation (IRR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.89-1.02 and IRR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.77-0.93). Results from this study are intended to facilitate further research of potential differences between Air Force components to reduce non-battle injuries in a deployed environment.
authors: Epidemiology Consult Service, United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, 1050 Forrer Boulevard, Kettering, OH 45420-1472, USA.
authors: Melinda
authors: M
authors: Eaton
authors: Stephen W
authors: SW
authors: Marshall
authors: Scott
authors: S
authors: Fujimoto
authors: Philip L
authors: PL
authors: Gould
authors: Charles
authors: C
authors: Poole
authors: David B
authors: DB
authors: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult