Citation

Tvaryanas AP, Maupin GM, Fouts BL. Mil. Med. 2016; 181(2): 143-151.

Affiliation

Aeromedical Research Department, U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, 2510 Fifth Street, Building 840, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States)

DOI

10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00585

PMID

26837083

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the association between deployment-related occupational/environmental exposures and incident postdeployment mental health (PDMH) conditions in a defined population of military health care professionals working in the deployed critical care environment.

METHODS: A nested case-control study compared cohort members with a PDMH condition (cases, N = 146) with those without a PDMH condition (controls, N = 800) in terms of deployment-related exposures as ascertained using Postdeployment Health Assessment DD 2796 questionnaire data. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to compute odds ratios.

RESULTS: Nonphysician career fields (i.e., nurses and medical technicians), exposure to dead bodies or people killed/wounded, history of a vehicular accident/crash, exposure to sand/dust, exposure to lasers, and use of mission-oriented protective posture (MOPP) overgarments were associated with increased likelihood for a PDMH condition. The infrequent exposures (i.e., vehicular accident/crash, lasers, and MOPP overgarments) were the exposures most strongly associated with subsequent PDHM conditions.

CONCLUSIONS: For military health care providers returning from the deployed environment, several exposures are useful for predicting those at increased risk for a PDMH condition. However, there are likely many other important risk factors beyond those captured on the DD 2796 questionnaire.

Language: en