Diabetes in Combat: Effect of Military Deployment on Diabetes Mellitus in Air Force Personnel

Abstract

The United States Air Force (USAF) restricts military personnel with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) from participating in military deployments due to the uncertainty of healthcare availability in an austere environment. For military providers, assessing a member's candidacy for deployment has been challenging as no data has been published describing the effect of a deployment on glycemic control among military personnel with DM. We conducted a retrospective analysis on 366 USAF personnel with DM examining response in hemoglobin A1C (A1C) and body mass index (BMI) after a deployment of at least 90 days. Each subject' s A1C and BMI were obtained before deployment and within 6 months of repatriation. For the entire population, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean A1C before and after deployment (6.5% vs. 6.7% respectively, P=0.17). Likewise, subgroup analyses of gender, rank, and age showed no significant difference in A1C before and after deployment. ln subjects taking oral DM medications only or no medications, which represent the ideal regimen in deployment due to cold storage limitations, there was no significant difference in A1C before and after deployment (n=335, 6.4% vs. 6.6% respectively, P=0.09). However, members requiring insulin appeared to have worsened glycemic control before and after deployment (A1C 7.8% vs. 8.4%, respectively), although the census in this category (n=25) was insufficient to accurately calculate statistical significance. Mean BMI for the overall population declined significantly after deployment (28.4kg/m2 vs. 27.8kg/m2,P<0.01). A1C appears to remain relatively stable before and after a deployment among AF personnel with DM. However, those requiring insulin demonstrated a concerning pattern of A1C increase. Further studies are needed to determine specific factors in military deployment that affect glycemic control.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1037232

Entities

People

  • Irene Folaron

Organizations

  • San Antonio Military Medical Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Personnel
  • Biomedical Research
  • Cold Storage
  • Department Of Defense
  • Digital Information
  • Intellectual Property
  • Law
  • Materials
  • Military Medicine
  • Military Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Technical Information Centers
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Military Mobilization and Reserve Forces Studies.
  • Trauma or Military Medicine
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