Sinusitis and rhinitis among US veterans deployed to Southwest Asia and Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.

Background: Post-9/11 veterans were exposed to environmental and occupational pollutants during deployment.

Objective: Our aim was to determine associations between deployment-related exposures and sinusitis and rhinitis.

Methods: Between April 2018 and March 2020, veterans with land-based deployment after 9/11 who were living within 25 miles of 6 Department of Veteran Affairs medical centers were randomly chosen by using a Defense Manpower Data Center roster.

Symptoms of depression, but not PTSD, influence cognitive performance in healthy Army National Guard Soldiers.

Introduction: Research suggests that comorbid depression and PTSD may contribute to cognitive impairment. However, few studies have explored this dynamic in military personnel who report only subclinical symptoms of PTSD and depression.

Methods: Army National Guard Soldiers (ARNG; N = 1415) completed the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM), the PTSD Checklist (PCL), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics: Normative Reference Values for U. S. Army National Guard Soldiers.

Objective: The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) is a computerized cognitive test system used extensively with military service members. The aim of this study was to develop a nationally representative normative dataset of Army National Guard (ARNG) personnel and to explore potential relationships between ANAM performances and select military service, demographic, and health factors.

Methods: ANAM performance data were collected using standardized procedures from a representative sample of ARNG service members in six U.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis suppression is common among women during US Army Basic Combat Training.

Objective: Less than half of servicewomen report loss of menses during initial military training. However, self-reported menstrual status may not accurately reflect hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis suppression and may underestimate reproductive health consequences of military training. Our aim was to characterise HPO axis function during US Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) in non-hormonal contraceptive-using women and explore potential contributors to HPO axis suppression.

Early predictors of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder symptom trajectories in U.S. Army soldiers deployed to the Iraq war zone.

The course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms varies among veterans of war zones, but sources of variation in long-term symptom course remain poorly understood. Modeling of symptom growth trajectories facilitates the understanding of predictors of individual outcomes over time. Although growth mixture modeling (GMM) has been applied to military populations, few studies have incorporated both predeployment and follow-up measurements over an extended time.

Physical Injuries, Treatment-Seeking, and Perceived Barriers to Treatment in U.S. Army Drill Sergeants.

Introduction: Drill sergeants work under mentally and physically challenging conditions. The current study examined self-reported rates of physical injuries in drill sergeants; rates of treatment-seeking for injuries; perceived barriers toward treatment-seeking; and associated demographic and environmental factors.

Materials And Methods: Drill sergeants from across all Army basic training locations completed self-report surveys from September to November of 2018.

Health symptom trajectories and neurotoxicant exposures in Gulf War veterans: the Ft. Devens cohort.

Background: Thirty years ago, Gulf War (GW) veterans returned home with numerous health symptoms that have been associated with neurotoxicant exposures experienced during deployment. The health effects from these exposures have been termed toxic wounds. Most GW exposure-outcome studies utilize group analyses and thus individual fluctuations in symptoms may have been masked.

Risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries in the military: a qualitative systematic review of the literature from the past two decades and a new prioritizing injury model.

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries (MSkIs) are a leading cause of health care utilization, as well as limited duty and disability in the US military and other armed forces. MSkIs affect members of the military during initial training, operational training, and deployment and have a direct negative impact on overall troop readiness. Currently, a systematic overview of all risk factors for MSkIs in the military is not available.

Transitioning from daytime to nighttime operations in military training has a temporary negative impact on dynamic balance and jump performance in U.S. Army Rangers.

Objectives: Explore the impact transitioning from daytime to nighttime operations has on performance in U.S. Army Rangers.

Associations Among Increases in Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Neurocognitive Performance, and Long-Term Functional Outcomes in U.S. Iraq War Veterans.

Cross-sectional research suggests that posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among war zone veterans are associated with functional impairment and poor quality of life. Less is known about the long-term functional repercussions of PTSS. This study of Iraq War veterans examined the associations between increases in PTSS and long-term functional outcomes, including the potential contributions of neurocognitive decrements.

Body mass does not reflect the body composition changes in response to similar physical training in young women and men.

Introduction: U.S. Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) prepares new recruits to meet soldier physical demands.

Sleep health of incoming army trainees and how it changes during basic combat training.

Objective: To examine the sleep health of incoming Army trainees and how it is impacted during basic combat training (BCT).

Design: Prospective.

Setting: BCT site (Fort Jackson, SC).

Changes in Health Status in the Ft. Devens Gulf War Veterans Cohort: 1997-2017.

Gulf War veterans (GWVs) were exposed to numerous neurotoxicants during deployment. Upon returning home, many reported a multitude of symptoms including fatigue, pain, gastrointestinal and respiratory issues, and neurological, cognitive, and mood complaints, collectively termed "Gulf War Illness (GWI)." Now, nearly 30 years post-war, many GWVs continue to suffer from these symptoms, in addition to health concerns associated with normal aging.

Longitudinal Assessment of Health Symptoms in Relation to Neurotoxicant Exposures in 1991 Gulf War Veterans: The Ft. Devens Cohort.

Objective: This analysis examined the relationship between Gulf War (GW) exposures and health symptoms reported in three time periods over 20 years in Ft. Devens Cohort veterans.

Methods: Repeated logistic regression models examined the association of exposures and health symptoms over time.

Long-term negative emotional outcomes of warzone TBI.

Objective: Many veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although prior work has examined associations between TBI and development of psychiatric syndromes, less is known about associations between TBI and component emotions constituting these syndromes, especially in the long term. The purpose of this study was to examine the long-term emotional consequences of deployment-related TBI.

Effect of Environmental Temperature and Humidity on Permethrin Biomarkers of Exposure in U.S. Soldiers Wearing Permethrin-Treated Uniforms.

Environmental factors, including high temperature and humidity, can influence dermal absorption of chemicals. Soldiers can be dermally exposed to permethrin while wearing permethrin-treated uniforms. This study aimed at examining the effects of high temperature and a combined high temperature and humid environment on permethrin absorption compared with ambient conditions when wearing a permethrin-treated uniform.

The Effect of Body Composition and Energy Expenditure on Permethrin Biomarker Concentrations Among US Army National Guard Members.

Objective: To examine relationships between percent body fat (%BF) and total energy expenditure (TEE) on permethrin exposure among Army National Guard (ARNG) Soldiers wearing permethrin-treated uniforms.

Methods: ARNG members (n = 47) participated in a 9-day study. Repeated body composition (height, weight, %BF) measurements and daily urine samples, analyzed for permethrin and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) metabolites, were collected.

Combat and Trajectories of Physical Health Functioning in U.S. Service Members.

Introduction: Previous research has demonstrated that different forms of mental health trajectories can be observed in service members, and that these trajectories are related to combat. However, limited research has examined this phenomenon in relation to physical health. This study aims to determine how combat exposure relates to trajectories of physical health functioning in U.

Respiratory Health after Military Service in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Since 2001, more than 2.7 million U.S.

A prospective field study of U.S. Army trainees to identify the physiological bases and key factors influencing musculoskeletal injuries: a study protocol.

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs) are common in military trainees and present a considerable threat to occupational fitness, deployability, and overall military readiness. Despite the negative effects of MSKIs on military readiness, comprehensive evaluations of the key known and possible risk factors for MSKIs are lacking. The U.

Urinary concentrations of permethrin metabolites in US Army personnel in comparison with the US adult population, occupationally exposed cohorts, and other general populations.

Permethrin is used to treat clothing as a personal protective measure against insect bites in military and recreational settings, and along with other pyrethroid insecticides, is sprayed in agricultural and residential sites for pest control. The widespread use of permethrin and other pyrethroid insecticides creates a potential for human exposure in occupational and non-occupational populations. This study aims to compare urinary biomarkers of pyrethroid exposure in two US military cohorts to the general US adult population from the 2009-2010 Nutritional Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).