Austere living conditions during deployment may put service members at greater risk for urinary tract infections (UTIs).
During the 6-year surveillance period, 6.5 percent of females (n=7,214) and 0.3 percent of males (n=2,412) who were ever deployed had at least one UTI diagnosed while deployed to Southwest Asia and the Middle East. The incidence rate of first-time UTIs while deployed was 86.7 per 1,000 person-years (p-yrs) in females and 3.3 per 1,000 p-yrs in males. Of service members with at least one UTI during deployment, 13.6 percent of females and 3.6 percent of males had an additional (recurrent) UTI during the same or a follow-up deployment period. Among both females and males, rates of UTIs were highest among those who were the youngest, in armor/motor transport occupations, and "other" (e.g., separated, divorced) marital status. Throughout the surveillance period, annual overall rates of UTIs were 26-55 percent higher among nondeployed than deployed females and 130-250 percent higher among nondeployed than deployed males. Among those diagnosed with UTIs during deployment, 53.6 percent of females and 13.9 percent of males had at least one UTI diagnosed during a medical encounter in a fixed medical treatment facility any time prior to deployment.
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Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC).
Reference: MSMR. 2014 Mar;21(3):2-5.
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 24684613