Gender differential and implications in the epidemiology of stress fractures among cadets of Indian Armed Forces
Journal Title: Medical Journal Armed Forces - Year 2017, Vol 73, Issue 4
Abstract
Background: Most studies on stress fractures in India have been carried out among recruits as against officer trainees and limited to males. With the continuous induction of women in the Armed Forces, it was decided to carry out a study among officer trainees of the three services and compare the epidemiology among genders. Methods: A prospective study was carried out in 2011–2012 at Training Institutes of the three services where male and female cadets train together. Baseline data was collected for all trainees who joined the academy during the study period. All cadets were followed up for development of stress fractures for which details were taken. Additional information was taken from the Training Institute. Results: A total of 3220 cadets (2612 male and 608 female cadets) were included in the study. Overall 276 cadets were observed to have stress fractures during training – making an incidence of 6.9% for male cadets and 15.8% for female cadets. Females were found to have a significantly higher incidence of stress fractures. Further the distribution and onset of stress fractures in females was observed to be distinct from males. Conclusion: The significant gender differential observed in the study indicates differential role of intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors in the causation of stress fractures among male and female. Special consideration needs to be given to these while planning and implementing measures for prevention. Further studies may be carried out on subject and on the effect of interventions in stress fracture prevention.
Authors and Affiliations
Renuka Kunte
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP615100
- DOI 10.1016/j.mjafi.2017.09.018
- Views 61
- Downloads 0
Ending AIDS: The 90–90–90 strategy
From its beginning as a cluster of cases, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic revealed a startling propensity to spread between sub-populations and across geographic boundaries. Within the first decade itself...
Osteoporosis among household women: A growing but neglected phenomenon
Background: Osteoporosis is associated with variable morbidity and socio-economic burden and referred as a ‘‘silent epidemic’’ with increasing risk among Indian women. The present study was conducted to find prevalence o...
Cutaneous myiasis: Think beyond furunculosis
Background: Cutaneous myiasis is the infestation of the skin by larvae (maggots) of the order Diptera (two winged). Being an imported and sporadic illness, furuncular myiasis often poses a diagnostic challenge to the tre...
Hip arthroscopy: Minimally invasive surgery for hip pathologies
Arthroscopy is considered as one of the revolutionary techniques in the management of musculoskeletal disorders. Hip arthroscopy is a new emerging technique for the management of hip pathologies and it has gained popular...
Tungiasis: Outbreak investigation of a zoonosis during overseas deployment
Background: Tungiasis is an ectoparasitosis caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans. It is endemic in the under privileged communities of Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub Saharan Africa with geographic and seasonal v...