Physically demanding jobs and occupational injury and disability in the U.S. Army.

Unlabelled: Effective job assignments should take into account physical capabilities to perform required tasks. Failure to do so is likely to result in increased injuries and musculoskeletal disability.

Objective: To evaluate the association between job demands and health outcomes among U.S. Army soldiers.

Methods: Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis is used to describe associations between job demands, hospitalizations, and disability among 261,096 enlisted Army soldiers in heavily, moderately, and lightly physically demanding occupations (2000-2005) who were followed for up to 5 years.

Results: Controlling for gender, race, and age, soldiers in heavily demanding jobs were at increased risk for any-cause injury, on-duty injuries, any-cause hospitalizations, and any-cause disability, but not for musculoskeletal disability.

Conclusion: Army job assignments should more accurately match physical capabilities to job demands and/or jobs should be redesigned to reduce injuries. Though musculoskeletal disorders are often the result of acute injury, the demographic and occupational risk patterns differ from acute injury.