Injuries and injury risk factors among men and women in US Army combat medic advanced individual training

No previous reports have evaluated injuries or injury risk factors during t he advanced individual training (AIT) that follows the Army's initial or ba sic combat training [BCT], This study examined injuries and injury risk fac tors among 439 men and 287 women participating in combat medic AIT, A quest ionnaire addressing demographic and lifestyle characteristics (age, race, t obacco and alcohol use, physical activity, etc.) was administered to all su bjects, Stature and body mass were obtained from battalion records. Injurie s occurring during both BCT and AIT were transcribed from subject medical r ecords, Results indicated that cumulative injury incidence (subjects with o ne or more injuries) in BCT was 26% for men and 52% for women (p < 0.01), i n consonance with previous investigations. In AIT, injury incidence was 24% for men and 30% for women (p = 0.08). In both BCT and AIT, overuse injurie s and lower body injuries accounted for the largest proportions of injuries by diagnosis and anatomical location. Logistic regression revealed that ol der age (>25 years), split option (a break in service between BCT and AIT), and higher body mass were independent risk factors for AIT injuries among women. None of the examined variables were independent risk factors for AIT injuries among men.