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Comparison of injury during cadet basic training by gender
P E Bijur1, M Horodyski, W Egerton
1Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. bijur@aecom.yu.edu
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
|May 1, 1997
Summary
Female cadets experience significantly higher injury rates during military training than males. Improving pretraining physical conditioning can substantially reduce injury risk for all cadets.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Military Health
- Injury Epidemiology
Background:
- Basic military training presents a high risk of injury for cadets.
- Understanding sex-based differences in injury rates is crucial for effective prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify injury rates and patterns in male and female cadets during basic training.
- To investigate the role of pretraining conditioning and anthropometric factors in sex-based injury disparities.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study involving 558 cadets from the US Military Academy, class of 1995.
- Injury rates were assessed per 100 cadets, including those causing excused physical activity time and hospitalizations.
- Pretraining conditioning was evaluated using a 2-mile run performance metric.
Main Results:
- Women exhibited 2.5 times the overall injury rate and 3.9 times the hospitalization rate compared to men.
- Stress fractures and stress reactions were significantly more prevalent in women.
- Pretraining conditioning explained approximately half of the observed sex-based injury rate difference, while height did not.
Conclusions:
- Female cadets face a substantially higher risk of injury during military training.
- Enhanced pretraining physical conditioning programs show potential to mitigate injury risk in both sexes.
