Long-term peacetime indicators of injuries among military personnel of the Ministry of Defense of Russia (2003–2021)

Relevance. Injury rates denote the occurrence of trauma and its consequences in a cohort within a specific time period and serve as a critical indicator of occupational safety.

The objective is to analyze long-term injury statistics at peacetime among various military personnel categories of the Russian Ministry of Defense as a promising parameter to estimate the demand for injury prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Methods. We examined the morbidity database for Russian Armed Forces personnel containing medical records (Form 3/MED) from 2003 to 2021. Additionally, we investigated open access publications by staff from the Main Military Medical Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Russia. Injury rates were calculated per 1,000 military personnel (‰), whereas mortality was calculated per 100,000 (10^–5). Average long-term levels are based on cumulative absolute figures over 19 years of observation, while annual average levels rely on arithmetic means and their standard errors (M ± m) obtained from annual levels. Injury dynamics was analyzed using dynamic time series and second-order polynomial trend calculations.

Results and discussion. Over 19 years (2003–2021), servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of Russia showed the average annual injury rate (primary morbidity) for the diseases contained in ChapterXIX «Injury, poisoning, and certain other consequences of external causes (S00–T98)» (ICD-10) of 17.1 ‰, including 31.5 % among officers and warrant officers, 22.8 % among contracted military personnel and sergeants, 3.7 % among female military personnel, 42.0 % among conscripts; hospital admissions due to injuries accounted for 12.7 ‰, represented by 26.0 %, 21.8, 2.9, and 49.3 % respectively for the above four cohorts; days off from work – 322.4 ‰ represented by 33.0 %, 21.3, 4.0, 41.7 % respectively; discharges – 0.45 ‰ including 27.2 %, 12.7, 1.7, and 58.9 % respectively; mortality – 80,4 • 10^–5 with 37.9 %, 31.8, 1.5, and 28.8 % respectively. A downward trend in injury levels and shares was observed across all personnel categories, except among contracted personnel and sergeants, where an upward trend was noted. Morbidity in all military personnel categories included injuries accounting for 6–8 %, whereas injury-related mortality ranged from 24 % to 85 %, underscoring the high epidemiological significance of trauma among the military. The most pronounced consequences were observed among conscripts, as well as in officers and warrant officers. In terms of significance rank, the five most significant types of injuries ranked from most to least significant included head injuries (S00–S09) 3.30 ± 0.43 ‰ (20 %), followed by wrist and hand injuries (S60–S69) 2.74 ± 0.26 ‰ (16.6 %); ankle and foot injuries (S90–S99) 2.61 ± 0.24 ‰ (15.8 %); injures of the knee and lower extremities (S80–S89) 2.42 ± 0.11 ‰ (14.7 %); elbow and forearm injuries (S50–S59) 1.21 ± 0.12 ‰ (7.3 %). Jointly, the five groups accounted for 74.4 % of all injuries in the military personnel of the Russian Ministry of Defense personnel, with minor variability across all categories.

Conclusion. To ensure efficiency of treatment, rehabilitation, and injury prevention efforts, planning of resources should take to account both elevated trauma rates during armed conflicts, as well as injuries sustained during routine military activities.

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