thedrifter
02-13-07, 07:34 AM
Ailments vary by service, new medical study says
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : February 19, 2007
They may be strong to the finish, but Marines aren’t eating their spinach.
And soldiers? They’re definitely sweating the small stuff.
A recent study of seemingly healthy service members reporting for annual medical exams found that of those who had abnormal test results, Marines and sailors were more likely to be anemic than to have other health problems, while soldiers and airmen were most likely to have hypertension.
The study looked at 19 million reports from 1998 to 2006. Researchers at the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, which conducts research on all military services, hoped to determine whether it is worthwhile for troops to have annual medical exams, even if nothing is obviously wrong. It did not include people who went in for a specific injury, illness or complaint.
Of the 19 million reports, 202,977 came back with abnormal results, about 1 percent. Even so, the 200,000 who had hypertension, anemia, bad Pap smears, undiagnosed heart murmurs, breast lumps or bloody stools probably were glad they went in for Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services.
Digging deeper into the data, researchers found:
• Combat troops were less likely to have any problems, with one out of every 139.3 exams finding something abnormal. The overall average was one out of every 93 exams.
• One of every 41.4 service members over age 50 had abnormal results.
• One of every 47.6 female service members had abnormal results.
• One of every 64 black or Hispanic service members had abnormal results.
Abnormal results did not necessarily mean the service members were ill, only that they needed further examination.
Though most of the findings aren’t unusual, they may prove to be a good warning for other service members in similar groups.
For example, 15,677 men and 13,147 women were found to be anemic, or have an iron deficiency. Anemia causes fatigue, dizziness, headaches and difficulty breathing, mainly because it robs the blood of its ability to transport oxygen.
James McClung, who studies mineral deficiencies at the Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, said young women and athletes tend to need more iron. Women lose iron through their menstrual cycles every month, and no one is sure why athletes lose iron, though it could be through sweat, he said.
“The really nice thing about iron deficiency is one can actually prevent it and treat it in a very simple way,” McClung said. “In the Army, we’re actually providing the diet.”
Stress — a main cause of hypertension — was one of the topics of conversation at the recent annual Military Health System conference. Symptoms of hypertension include fatigue, confusion, vision changes and, most importantly, heart failure. It often has no symptoms, however. It can be caused by alcohol, smoking, salt and being overweight.
Air Force Lt. Col. Steven Pflanz, senior psychiatry policy analyst for the Air Force Medical Operations Agency, said airmen report their No. 1 cause of stress is their jobs, and part of that is because of the military mentality. “We think we need to suck it up and move,” he said. “But what we’re discovering is that it affects the mission.”
His best advice, he said, is the same advice any doctor would offer. “The healthiest people — the people who are coping the best — are the people who are exercising.”
See the full report:
amsa.army.mil/1Msmr/2006/v12_no09.pdf
Ellie
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : February 19, 2007
They may be strong to the finish, but Marines aren’t eating their spinach.
And soldiers? They’re definitely sweating the small stuff.
A recent study of seemingly healthy service members reporting for annual medical exams found that of those who had abnormal test results, Marines and sailors were more likely to be anemic than to have other health problems, while soldiers and airmen were most likely to have hypertension.
The study looked at 19 million reports from 1998 to 2006. Researchers at the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, which conducts research on all military services, hoped to determine whether it is worthwhile for troops to have annual medical exams, even if nothing is obviously wrong. It did not include people who went in for a specific injury, illness or complaint.
Of the 19 million reports, 202,977 came back with abnormal results, about 1 percent. Even so, the 200,000 who had hypertension, anemia, bad Pap smears, undiagnosed heart murmurs, breast lumps or bloody stools probably were glad they went in for Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services.
Digging deeper into the data, researchers found:
• Combat troops were less likely to have any problems, with one out of every 139.3 exams finding something abnormal. The overall average was one out of every 93 exams.
• One of every 41.4 service members over age 50 had abnormal results.
• One of every 47.6 female service members had abnormal results.
• One of every 64 black or Hispanic service members had abnormal results.
Abnormal results did not necessarily mean the service members were ill, only that they needed further examination.
Though most of the findings aren’t unusual, they may prove to be a good warning for other service members in similar groups.
For example, 15,677 men and 13,147 women were found to be anemic, or have an iron deficiency. Anemia causes fatigue, dizziness, headaches and difficulty breathing, mainly because it robs the blood of its ability to transport oxygen.
James McClung, who studies mineral deficiencies at the Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, said young women and athletes tend to need more iron. Women lose iron through their menstrual cycles every month, and no one is sure why athletes lose iron, though it could be through sweat, he said.
“The really nice thing about iron deficiency is one can actually prevent it and treat it in a very simple way,” McClung said. “In the Army, we’re actually providing the diet.”
Stress — a main cause of hypertension — was one of the topics of conversation at the recent annual Military Health System conference. Symptoms of hypertension include fatigue, confusion, vision changes and, most importantly, heart failure. It often has no symptoms, however. It can be caused by alcohol, smoking, salt and being overweight.
Air Force Lt. Col. Steven Pflanz, senior psychiatry policy analyst for the Air Force Medical Operations Agency, said airmen report their No. 1 cause of stress is their jobs, and part of that is because of the military mentality. “We think we need to suck it up and move,” he said. “But what we’re discovering is that it affects the mission.”
His best advice, he said, is the same advice any doctor would offer. “The healthiest people — the people who are coping the best — are the people who are exercising.”
See the full report:
amsa.army.mil/1Msmr/2006/v12_no09.pdf
Ellie