A retrospective cohort study of military deployment and postdeployment medical encounters for respiratory conditions.

Deployed military personnel are exposed to inhalational hazards that may increase their risk of chronic lung conditions. This evaluation assessed associations between Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) deployment and postdeployment medical encounters for respiratory symptoms and medical conditions. This retrospective cohort study was conducted among military personnel who, between January 2005 and June 2007, were deployed to either of two locations with burn pits in Iraq, or to either of two locations without burn pits in Kuwait.

Short communication: Investigation of incident HIV infections among U.S. army soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, 2001-2007.

The U.S. Army initiated an investigation in response to observations of a possible increase in HIV incidence among soldiers deployed to combat.

Serosurvey of bacterial and viral respiratory pathogens among deployed U.S. service members.

Background: Respiratory illnesses can cause substantial morbidity during military deployments. Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are hypothesized causes.

Purpose: To determine pathogen-specific seroprevalence prior to and after deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

Transfusion-transmissible viral infections among US military recipients of whole blood and platelets during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Background: Current US military clinical practice guidelines permit emergency transfusions of non-Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-compliant freshly collected blood products in theaters of war. This investigation aimed to characterize the risks of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) associated with battlefield transfusions of non-FDA-compliant blood products.

Study Design And Methods: US Service members who received emergency transfusion products in Iraq and Afghanistan (March 1, 2002-September 30, 2007) were tested for hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections using reposed pre- and posttransfusion sera.

Hepatitis E seroprevalence and seroconversion among US military service members deployed to Afghanistan.

Background: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has been recognized as a threat to military forces since its discovery. Although HEV seroprevalence in Afghanistan is not known, HEV infection is thought to be highly endemic in that country. This study determined the incidence of HEV seroconversion among United States (US) service members who were deployed to Afghanistan, as well as the prevalence of antibodies to HEV prior to the deployment.

Active tuberculosis and recent overseas deployment in the U.S. military.

Background: The risk of active TB resulting from military deployment to endemic areas is unknown. It has typically been assumed that the risk of TB approximates the risk among local nationals in that country.

Purpose: This nested case-control study assesses the putative association of overseas deployment with active tuberculosis among active-component U.

Malaria in the Republic of Korea, 1993-2007. Variables related to re-emergence and persistence of Plasmodium vivax among Korean populations and U.S. forces in Korea.

Malaria was eradicated and the Republic of Korea (ROK) declared "malaria free" in 1979. However, in 1993, a temperate strain of vivax malaria, expressing both latent and nonlatent disease populations, re-emerged near the demilitarized zone (DMZ), rapidly spread to civilian sectors near the DMZ, and increased exponentially in ROK military, veteran, and civilian populations through 1998. Malaria among all ROK populations decreased 5-fold from a high of 4142 cases in 2000 to a low of 826 cases in 2004, before increasing again to 2180 cases by 2007.

Comparison of the trivalent live attenuated vs. inactivated influenza vaccines among U.S. military service members.

Limited effectiveness data are available comparing live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) to inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) among adults. To compare the incidence of influenza-like illness following immunization of adults with LAIV vs. TIV, we conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of active component U.

Injury reduction effectiveness of selecting running shoes based on plantar shape.

Popular running magazines and running shoe companies suggest that imprints of the bottom of the feet (plantar shape) can be used as an indication of the height of the medial longitudinal foot arch and that this can be used to select individually appropriate types of running shoes. This study examined whether or not this selection technique influenced injury risk during United States Army Basic Combat Training (BCT). After foot examinations, BCT recruits in an experimental group (E: n = 1,079 men and 451 women) selected motion control, stability, or cushioned shoes for plantar shapes judged to represent low, medium, or high foot arches, respectively.

Live attenuated or inactivated influenza vaccines and medical encounters for respiratory illnesses among US military personnel.

Context: Since 2004, increasing numbers of military personnel have been immunized with the intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) while most others received the trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV). However, data about live virus vaccine effectiveness among healthy adults are limited.

Objective: To monitor the effectiveness of vaccines to better inform military vaccination policy.

Suspected pulmonary tuberculosis exposure at a remote U.S. army camp in northeastern Afghanistan, 2007.

Military personnel serving at remote camps in the border regions of northeastern Afghanistan may experience crowded living conditions and may have frequent interaction with local national (LN) workers, increasing the risk of exposure to multiple endemic diseases including tuberculosis (TB). In January 2007, pulmonary TB was clinically suspected in a LN worker who had close contact with a company of 92 U.S.

Incidence rates of pelvic inflammatory disease diagnoses among Army and Navy recruits potential impacts of Chlamydia screening policies.

Background: U.S. Navy policy requires Chlamydia trachomatis screening of all women upon entry to recruit training in conjunction with an educational session, and yearly screening thereafter until age 25.

Pseudoepidemics of tuberculin skin test conversions in the U.S. Army after recent deployments.

Rationale: The tuberculin skin test (TST) has many sources of error. These can lead to predominantly false-positive reactions when used in low-risk populations. The U.

Trends in overweight and obesity among 18-year-old applicants to the United States military, 1993-2006.

We examined trends in overweight and obesity among 756,269 18-year-old civilian applicants to the United States military from 1993-2006. The prevalence of overweight increased from 22.8% in 1993 to 27.

Mental health impact of 9/11 Pentagon attack: validation of a rapid assessment tool.

Background: Following the tragic events of 9/11/2001, the Pentagon Post Disaster Health Assessment (PPDHA) survey was created to identify healthcare needs and concerns among Pentagon personnel and to assure that appropriate care and information was provided. The PPDHA was fielded from October 15, 2001, to January 15, 2002. Fundamental in this assessment was the evaluation of the mental health impact as a result of the attack.

Development of a brief questionnaire to measure mental health outcomes among Pentagon employees following the September 11, 2001 attack.

In the aftermath of the terrorist action at the Pentagon there was a critical operational need to understand and document the extent of injuries, illnesses, and exposures sustained by Service members and civilian employees at the Pentagon. It was decided to develop and administer a brief questionnaire to the Pentagon employees that would contain questions about exposures, new or worsening injuries or illnesses, mental health, and factors suggested by the literature to increase risk or be protective for these outcomes. This report describes the development the mental health portion of this questionnaire.