The Impact of Age on Military Trauma Outcomes: A Retrospective Analysis

Age is a well-established prognostic factor in civilian trauma, where adverse outcomes increase with ages. Whether this pattern holds true in military trauma, where populations, injury mechanisms, and systems of care differ fundamentally, remains uncertain. A large-scale mobilization of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reservists provided an opportunity to examine this association.

To clarify whether older service members experienced less favorable outcomes compared with younger counterparts.

This retrospective cohort study included IDF casualties recorded in the IDF Trauma Registry and the Israel National Trauma Registry between 27 October 2023 and 19 January 2025. Participants were categorized by age: 18-21 years, 22-39 years, and ≥ 40 years. Primary outcomes included 24-hour and 30-day mortality, intensive care unit admission (ICU), and hospitalization ≥ 7 days.

Of 4905 casualties, 40.4% were 18-21 years of age, 54.2% were 22-39, and 5.4% were ≥ 40. Injury severity, evacuation times, pre-hospital interventions, and admission vital signs were similar across groups. Adjusted analyses showed no significant age-related differences in mortality, ICU admission, or prolonged hospitalization. Subgroup analysis of casualties with injury severity score ≥ 16 yielded comparable results.

In this large military trauma cohort, no significant association was found between age and mortality, ICU admission, or prolonged hospitalization. These findings were observed in a generally healthy military population receiving organized trauma care and suggest that, within this context, chronological age alone may not be an appropriate criterion for determining reserve service eligibility.