Citation

Oetting AA, Garvin NU, Boivin MR, Cowan DN. Am. J. Prev. Med. 2016; 52(3): 324-330.

Affiliation

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland; ManTech Health, Herndon, Virginia. Electronic address: david.n.cowan.ctr@mail.mil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.amepre.2016.08.025

PMID

27720341

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Low levels of pre-accession physical fitness and activity are risk factors for stress fractures and other overuse musculoskeletal injuries among military trainees. One dimension in the Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System (TAPAS), a non-cognitive personality test given to Army applicants, specifically assesses propensity to engage in physical activity. This dimension may serve as a surrogate measure for activity or fitness. The study examines the associations between TAPAS dimension scores and risk of musculoskeletal injuries.

METHODS: Fifteen TAPAS dimension scores for 15,082 U.S. Army trainees entering military service in 2010 were provided by the U.S. Army Research Institute for Social and Behavioral Sciences. During 2013-2015, the associations between TAPAS dimension scores (as a continuous variable) and injuries in the first 6 months of service were evaluated using logistic regression, with the measure of association being the OR.

RESULTS: The TAPAS physical conditioning dimension was associated with musculoskeletal injuries and stress fractures among both men (musculoskeletal injury, OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.79, 0.86; stress fracture, OR=0.68, 95% CI=0.57, 0.80) and women (musculoskeletal injury, OR=0.77, 95% CI=0.70, 0.85; stress fracture, OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.43, 082). No other dimensions were both significantly and consistently associated with either injury.

CONCLUSIONS: The TAPAS physical conditioning dimension is a strong predictor of musculoskeletal injury and stress fracture among male and female U.S. Army trainees, and may serve as a pre-accession screen for self-reported physical activity.

Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Language: en