The Association Between Disordered Eating and Musculoskeletal Injury Among Marine Officers Upon Entry to the Basic...

Active duty service members (ADSMs) may be at heightened risk for eating disorders (EDs) and sub-clinical disordered eating (DE). ADSMs are also at a high risk for musculoskeletal injury (MSK-I). Given the risk for EDs/DE among ADSMs as well as robust physical requirements of military training, additional research is needed to elucidate links between DE and risk for MSK-I among ADSMs. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of DE and associations with MSK-I among Marine Corps officers entering a 6 month leadership course.

The current cross-sectional study is part of a large, prospective study, the Initiation of Marine Physiological Assessment of Combat Training (IMPACT) study. Participants completed the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire Short (EDE-QS) and self-reported the presence of a recent (≤6 months) MSK-I upon entry to an officer training course. A logistic regression was used to assess the association between elevated DE (EDE-QS ≥15) and recent MSK-I, adjusting for age, race, sex, and commissioning source.

N = 1,382 officers (11.6% female, MAge: 24.8 ± 2.9 years, 26.6% racial/ethnic minority) completed the questionnaires. Seven percent had elevated DE (EDE-QS score ≥15) (female: 10.6%, male: 6.9%, P = .10); 18.3% self-reported recent MSK-I (female: 26.3%, male: 17.3%; P = .009). Females had 17% greater odds of MSK-I compared to males (aOR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.03-1.33, P = .02). Moreover, females with elevated DE had greater odds of MSK-I than males with elevated DE (aOR= 1.38); among females, odds of MSK-I were greatest among those with elevated DE (aOR= 1.35).

In this sample of Marine officers, DE was associated with greater odds of a recent MSK-I among women only. Results align with previously reported relationships between DE and skeletal health in female athletes. Prospective research is needed to elucidate the temporal nature of these relationships.