Risk of Injury in Royal Air Force Training: Does Sex Really Matter?

INTRODUCTION: Musculoskeletal injuries are common during military and other occupational physical training programs. Employers have a duty of care to reduce employees' injury risk, where females tend to be at greater risk than males. However, quantification of principle co-factors influencing the sex-injury association, and their relative importance, remain poorly defined. Injury risk co-factors were investigated during Royal Air Force (RAF) recruit training to inform the strategic prioritization of mitigation strategies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cohort of 1,193 (males n = 990 (83%); females n = 203 (17%)) recruits, undertaking Phase-1 military training, were prospectively monitored for injury occurrence. The primary independent variable was sex, and potential confounders (fitness, smoking, anthropometric measures, education attainment) were assessed pre-training. Generalized linear models were used to assess associations between sex and injury. RESULTS: In total, 31% of recruits (28% males; 49% females) presented at least one injury during training. Females had a two-fold greater unadjusted risk of injury during training than males (RR = 1.77; 95% CI 1.49-2.10). After anthropometric, lifestyle and education measures were included in the model, the excess risk decreased by 34%, but the associations continued to be statistically significant. In contrast, when aerobic fitness was adjusted, an inverse association was identified; the injury risk was 40% lower in females compared with males (RR = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.42-0.83). CONCLUSIONS: Physical fitness was the most important confounder with respect to differences in males' and females' injury risk, rather than sex alone. Mitigation to reduce this risk should, therefore, focus upon physical training, complemented by healthy lifestyle interventions.

Environmental interventions to promote healthier eating and physical activity behaviours in institutions: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The present review evaluated the effectiveness of environmental-based interventions aimed at improving the dietary and physical activity behaviours and body composition indices of adults in institutions. DESIGN: A systematic review was conducted. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, Scopus and Athena) were searched for relevant articles published between database inception and October 2017. Searching, selecting and reporting were undertaken according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. SETTING: Military establishments and maritime workplaces.ParticipantsAdults in institutions, aged 18-45 years. RESULTS: A total of 27842 articles were screened for eligibility, nine studies (reported in eleven articles) were included in the review. Five studies used multilevel strategies and four used environmental strategies only. Duration of follow-up ranged from 3 weeks to 10 years. Eight of the studies reported significant positive effects on dietary behaviours, but effect sizes varied. The study that targeted physical activity had no effect on activity levels but did have a significant positive effect on physical fitness. No evidence was identified that the studies resulted in improvements in body composition indices. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence base appears to be in favour of implementing environmental interventions in institutions to improve the dietary behaviours of adults. However, due to the small number of studies included in the review, and the variable methodological quality of the studies and intervention reporting, further well-designed evaluation studies are required.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D fluctuations in military personnel during 6-month summer operational deployments in Afghanistan.

Soldier operational performance is determined by their fitness, nutritional status, quality of rest/recovery, and remaining injury/illness free. Understanding large fluctuations in nutritional status during operations is critical to safeguarding health and well-being. There are limited data world-wide describing the effect of extreme climate change on nutrient profiles. This study investigated the effect of hot-dry deployments on vitamin D status (assessed from 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration) of young, male, military volunteers. Two data sets are presented (pilot study, n 37; main study, n 98), examining serum 25(OH)D concentrations before and during 6-month summer operational deployments to Afghanistan (March to October/November). Body mass, percentage of body fat, dietary intake and serum 25(OH)D concentrations were measured. In addition, parathyroid hormone (PTH), adjusted Ca and albumin concentrations were measured in the main study to better understand 25(OH)D fluctuations. Body mass and fat mass (FM) losses were greater for early (pre- to mid-) deployment compared with late (mid- to post-) deployment (P<0·05). Dietary intake was well-maintained despite high rates of energy expenditure. A pronounced increase in 25(OH)D was observed between pre- (March) and mid-deployment (June) (pilot study: 51 (sd 20) v. 212 (sd 85) nmol/l, P<0·05; main study: 55 (sd 22) v. 167 (sd 71) nmol/l, P<0·05) and remained elevated post-deployment (October/November). In contrast, PTH was highest pre-deployment, decreasing thereafter (main study: 4·45 (sd 2·20) v. 3·79 (sd 1·50) pmol/l, P<0·05). The typical seasonal cycling of vitamin D appeared exaggerated in this active male population undertaking an arduous summer deployment. Further research is warranted, where such large seasonal vitamin D fluctuations may be detrimental to bone health in the longer-term.

Rebreather Unit to Prolong Underwater Survival Time.

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated whether the timing of activation affects the utility of an emergency underwater rebreather unit (RBU) when submerged in cold water. METHOD: On two successive occasions, 16 male UK Royal Marines were submerged in stirred water at 12.2°C for up to 78 s. The subjects were lowered (taking 18 s) into the water in a seated position and were instructed to take a large breath in, activate the unit, breath-hold for as long as possible, exhale into the unit, and breathe normally to and from the unit for the remainder of submersion. On one occasion the subjects were instructed to activate the RBU when the water reached chest height (Condition-1) and, on the other, prior to the feet entering the water (Condition-2). Measurements were made of the duration of breath-hold, rebreathing and submersion, exhaled oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations, skin temperature, and heart rate. RESULTS: In 16 of the 32 submersions, the breath-hold was released before the subject became fully submerged and in 8 submersions the subject requested early withdrawal from the water. Mean (SD) breath-hold duration was 14.0 (13.8) s and the duration of rebreathing was 45.9 (21.9) s. The duration of breath-hold once completely submerged was longer in Condition-1 (9.1 s) than Condition-2 (4.1 s). CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates the RBU should be activated just before the mouth becomes submerged rather than before entering the water, and that the RBU will prolong underwater stay time, thereby increasing survival prospects. House CM, Shaw AM, Roiz de Sa DG. Rebreather unit to prolong underwater stay time, thereby increasing survival prospects.

Fundamental differences in axial and appendicular bone density in stress fractured and uninjured Royal Marine recruits--a matched case-control study.

Stress fracture is a common overuse injury within military training, resulting in significant economic losses to the military worldwide. Studies to date have failed to fully identify the bone density and bone structural differences between stress fractured personnel and controls due to inadequate adjustment for key confounding factors; namely age, body size and physical fitness; and poor sample size. The aim of this study was to investigate bone differences between male Royal Marine recruits who suffered a stress fracture during the 32 weeks of training and uninjured control recruits, matched for age, body weight, height and aerobic fitness. A total of 1090 recruits were followed through training and 78 recruits suffered at least one stress fracture. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at the lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN) and whole body (WB) using Dual X-ray Absorptiometry in 62 matched pairs; tibial bone parameters were measured using peripheral Quantitative Computer Tomography in 51 matched pairs. Serum C-terminal peptide concentration was measured as a marker of bone resorption at baseline, week-15 and week-32. ANCOVA was used to determine differences between stress fractured recruits and controls. BMD at the LS, WB and FN sites was consistently lower in the stress fracture group (P<0.001). Structural differences between the stress fracture recruits and controls were evident in all slices of the tibia, with the most prominent differences seen at the 38% tibial slice. There was a negative correlation between the bone cross-sectional area and BMD at the 38% tibial slice. There was no difference in serum CTx concentration between stress fracture recruits and matched controls at any stage of training. These results show evidence of fundamental differences in bone mass and structure in stress fracture recruits, and provide useful data on bone risk factor profiles for stress fracture within a healthy military population.