Biblioteca Digital

OBJETIVO: Estimar a prevalência de hipertensão arterial entre militares jovens e fatores associados. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado com amostra de 380 militares do sexo masculino de 19 e 35 anos de idade em uma unidade da Força Aérea Brasileira em São Paulo, SP, entre 2000 e 2001. Os pontos de corte para hipertensão foram: >140mmHg para pressão sistólica e > 90mmHg para pressão diastólica. As variáveis estudadas incluíram fatores de risco e de proteção para hipertensão, como características comportamentais e nutricionais. Para análise das associações, utilizou-se regressão linear generalizada múltipla, com família binomial e ligação logarítmica, obtendo-se razões de prevalências com intervalo de 90% de confiança e seleção hierarquizada das variáveis. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de hipertensão arterial foi de 22% (IC 90%: 21;29). No modelo final da regressão múltipla verificou-se prevalência de hipertensão 68% maior entre os ex-fumantes em relação aos não fumantes (IC 90%: 1,13;2,50). Entre os indivíduos com sobrepeso (índice de massa corporal - IMC de 25 a 29kg/m2) e com obesidade (IMC>29kg/m2) as prevalências foram, respectivamente, 75% (IC 90%: 1,23;2,50) e 178% (IC 90%: 1,82;4,25) maiores do que entre os eutróficos. Entre os que praticavam atividade física regular...

Atualmente, o nível de exigências do mercado de trabalho tem aumentado, a qualificação profissional se tornou indispensável, a concorrência está cada vez maior e por isso, o estresse ocupacional tem destaque no processo de saúde-doença do individuo em seu ambiente de trabalho. O mecanismo interno de liberação de estresse pode causar, entre outros, um aumento na tonicidade da musculatura da cabeça e do pescoço, como também dos níveis de atividade muscular parafuncional, como o bruxismo e o apertamento dentário. Assim, o cirurgião-dentista tem o papel de diagnosticar, tratar e proservar os pacientes com disfunção temporomandibular. Uma das profissões mais históricas no Brasil, ser militar, especificamente da força armada terrestre, o Exército Brasileiro tem, além de suas características de honestidade, vigor físico, responsabilidade e pontualidade, fatores associados que podem gerar o estresse ocupacional, como o risco à vida, sujeição a preceitos rígidos de hierarquia e disciplina, disponibilidade permanente, mobilidade geográfica, formação específica e aperfeiçoamento constante, além das consequências para a família. Nesse contexto, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi investigar a presença de estresse ocupacional em uma população de militares no município de Ribeirão Preto...

Introdução - O excesso de peso e obesidade está presente nos indivíduos que compõem as Forças Armadas em nível mundial, sendo relacionados a estilos de vida inadequados, tornando o risco de Doenças Crônicas Não Transmissíveis (DCNT(s)) uma grande preocupação. Objetivo - Avaliar o estado nutricional de militares da Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB) na cidade de São Paulo e sua relação com dados sociodemográficos, consumo alimentar, estilo de vida e DCNT(s). Métodos - A população de estudo foi de 1.241 militares do gênero masculino, pertencentes às sete Organizações Militares da FAB na cidade de São Paulo. A avaliação do estado nutricional foi realizada segundo o IMC e o %G, observando-se o grau de associação e a proporção de concordância entre eles a fim de verificar o melhor parâmetro de classificação do estado nutricional dos militares, o qual foi submetido à análise estatística com as demais variáveis e distribuído em percentis por estágio de vida a fim de utilização como referência. Resultados - A maioria apresenta idade ≤ 30 anos (76,7%), estado civil solteiro (70,3%), escolaridade de 12 ou mais anos (60,1%) e classes de renda C, D e E (86,2%). Grande parte dos militares (84,8%) realiza menos de cinco refeições ao dia e somente 2...

BACKGROUND: Understanding the effectiveness of policies and programs aimed at combating substance abuse in the military requires comparison with the civilian population from which military personnel are drawn. METHODS: Standardized comparisons of the use of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes among military personnel and civilians were conducted with data from the 1985 Worldwide Survey of Alcohol and Nonmedical Drug Use among Military Personnel and the 1985 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. The two data sets were equated for age and geographic location of respondents, and civilian substance use rates were standardized to reflect the sociodemographic distribution of the military. RESULTS: Military personnel were significantly less likely than civilians to use drugs, but were significantly more likely to use alcohol and cigarettes and to engage in heavy use of alcohol and cigarettes. Heavy drinking was especially likely among young military men. Military women were similar to military men in their smoking and drug use patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that military policies and programs have been notably effective in reducing drug use, but that efforts to limit alcohol and cigarette use should be intensified. Military efforts directed against alcohol abuse should be targeted toward younger men...

OBJECTIVE—To compare the tobacco use profile of recruits with that of military personnel on active duty to determine whether the military environment in some way induces service members to initiate tobacco use.
DESIGN AND SETTING—Cross-sectional survey of United States armed forces active duty and recruit personnel in 1994-95.
SUBJECTS—2711 military recruits and 4603 military personnel on active duty.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES—Comparative cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use prevalence between recruits and personnel on active duty controlling for age, sex, and race. Impact of demographic factors on the odds of smoking or using smokeless tobacco.
RESULTS—Increases in tobacco use in American military personnel occurred exclusively in men. The highest tobacco use resided with white men on active duty (43% cigarette smoking; 24% smokeless tobacco use) and represents a doubling of tobacco use seen among white male recruits. Among non-white men, tobacco use increased 2-4 times between recruits and personnel on active duty.
CONCLUSIONS—Efforts to reduce tobacco use by American military personnel on active duty should focus more on discouraging the initiation of tobacco use.


Keywords: tobacco use; military personnel; United States

Understanding the role of spirituality as a potential coping mechanism for military personnel is important given growing concern about the mental health issues of personnel returning from war. This study seeks to determine the extent to which spirituality is associated with selected mental health problems among active duty military personnel and whether it moderates the relationship between combat exposure/deployment and (a) depression, (b) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and (c) suicidality in active duty military personnel. Data were drawn from the 2008 Department of Defense Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Active Duty Military Personnel. Over 24,000 randomly selected active duty personnel worldwide completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire. High spirituality had a significant protective effect only for depression symptoms. Medium, as opposed to high or low, levels of spirituality buffered each of the mental health outcomes to some degree. Medium and low spirituality levels predicted depression symptoms but only among those with moderate combat exposure. Medium spirituality levels also predicted PTSD symptoms among those with moderate levels of combat exposure and predicted self-reported suicidal ideation/attempt among those never deployed. These results point to the complex relationship between spirituality and mental health...

The Australian Government has supported the establishment of a Deployment Health Surveillance Program for the Australian Defence Force. Although some health screening mechanisms already exist for Australian Defence Force personnel, until now health data have been used largely for clinical management at an individual level and have not been aggregated to identify trends in health and risk factors in the shorter or longer term. We identify challenges for and potential benefits of health surveillance in the military context, describe features of the Program and progress to date. Retrospective and cross-sectional projects based on deployments to the Near North Area of Influence since 1997 are under way. A planned prospective model of health surveillance for those deploying to the Middle East promises more timely attention to any emerging health problems for military personnel and veterans.; Christopher A. Barton, Annette Dobson, Susan A. Treloar, Christine McClintock and Alexander C. McFarlane; The definitive version may be found at www.wiley.com

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be caused by life threatening illness, such as cancer and coronary events. The study by Forbes et al. made the unexpected finding that military personnel evacuation with medical illness have similar rates of PTSD to those evacuated with combat injuries. It may be that the illness acts as a nonspecific stressor that interacts with combat exposures to increase the risk of PTSD. Conversely, the inflammatory consequence of systemic illness may augment the effects to traumatic stress and facilitate the immunological abnormalities that are now being associated with PTSD and depression. The impact of the stress on cytokine systems and their role in the onset of PTSD demands further investigation. Military personnel evacuated due to physical illness require similar screening and monitoring for the risk of PTSD to those injured who are already known to be at high risk.; Alexander C McFarlane

The article examines the present status of private military personnel under international criminal law. Perpetrators of international crimes are frequently integrated into a hierarchically structured collective, such as an army or police force. The system of order and obedience essential to the functioning of these entities, the existence of which underlies a number of principles of international criminal law, cannot be simply presumed to exist within a private military company (PMC) or between a PMC and the hiring state. As a consequence, the private nature of the company may become an issue, particularly when one considers the capacity of their personnel to commit war crimes or to incur superior or command responsibility. The article also considers problems of implementation and jurisdiction and touches briefly on the question of corporate criminal responsibility of the PMC itself. It will be argued that, in theory, international criminal law can be an efficient part of the legal regime governing the use and conduct of private military companies, although many of the legal issues discussed remain to be tested.; The ‘Regulating Privatisation of “War”: The Role of the EU in Assuring the Compliance with International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights” (PRIV-WAR) project is funded by the European Community’s 7th Framework Programme under grant agreement no. 217405.

Background: Data regarding Hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV) prevalence among military personnel in Brazil are lacking, but the work-related risk of exposure can be high. The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV and the risk factors associated to HBV exposure among Brazilian military personnel.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and included 433 male military adults aged 18-25 years old working in Rio de Janeiro during October 2013. All individuals completed a questionnaire to assess their risk of exposure and provided a blood sample to HBV and HCV testing.Results: None of the participants presented HBsAg or anti-HBc IgM, 18 (4.1%) were positive for total anti-HBc, 247 (57.0%) were positive for anti-HBs, and 3 (0.7%) were anti-HCV reactive. The majority of military personnel with past HBV infection (anti-HBc reactive) and HBV immunity (anti-HBs reactive) had a history of prior dental procedures (88.9% and 77.3%), consumption of alcohol at least once a week (50% and 55.9%), and practiced oral sex (61.1% and 58.3%, respectively). In addition, anti-HBc positivity was common among individuals with a history of surgery (44.4%) and practice of anal sex (50%). At univariate analysis, age group was associated to anti-HBc and anti-HBs positivity.Conclusions: Low rates of HBV and HCV infection were observed among Brazilian military personnel in comparison to the general Brazilian population. HBV immunity rates were relatively low indicating the need for vaccination campaigns in this group.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited; Efficient manpower utilization is essential to minimizing the cost, and a key element in that is the maintenance of the optimum balance between civilian and military manpower resources. Economic efficiency dictates that as the cost of military personnel begin to rise relative to the cost of direct hires, the Services would have an incentive to increase the use of direct hires, and vice versa. In our empirical analysis, results indicate that although DoD responded correctly to factor price changes measured in current dollars, DoD did not respond to changes in the real price of civilians. It should have substituted military personnel for civilians as the real price of civilians increased. In addition to the data analysis, this research reviews the issues on the concept of military-to-civilian conversions, determines the advantages and disadvantages of such conversions, examines the associated factors and their impact, and investigates the premise that such conversions could be detrimental to the military's mission even though they may be cost-effective.; First Lieutenant, Turkish Army

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.; MBA Professional Report; Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.; This project analyzes retirement investment options currently available to all US service members. Specifically, it reviews eligibility requirements to participate in several investment vehicles, including military pensions, the Uniformed Services Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), traditional and Roth IRA's, annuities and Certificates of Deposit (CD's). Analysis of three notional service member profiles reveals the projected returns with retirement investment options. The information in this report is intended for discussion and initial planning purposes only. It is designed to help service members understand a general course of action that can help meet retirement objectives.; Lieutenant Commander, Supply Corps, United States Navy

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited.; In December 1993, the Department of Defense issued directives that revised the military's exclusionary policy toward homosexuals. These directives marked the culmination of an intense period of public debate that placed little emphasis on the moral dimension of homosexuality. The objective of this thesis is to determine if personal religious beliefs of military members influence their responses to policies that they perceive to involve morality, specifically with regard to the 1993 proposal to integrate homosexuals into the military. The research approach involves two phases: a review of the religious heritage of the United States, the First Amendment to the Constitution, and the history of military policies toward homosexuals; and an analysis of the religious demographics of the active-duty military, the doctrines on homosexuality of the largest denominations represented in the military, and the expressed moral beliefs of active-duty members regarding homosexuality. The results indicate that the United States has a strong Christian heritage, and that the First Amendment to the Constitution was not written to exclude Christian moral influence from the public-decision making process. Demographic data shows that a majority of military personnel classify themselves as Christian. Also...

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited; This thesis is a study of the Naval Military Personnel Command (NMPC) and its requirements to interconnect office area/local area networks and mainframe resources to form a comprehensive, organization-wide internet. The paper serves three purposes: it examines NMPC's organizational environment and internet requirements, proposes alternative internet configurations and recommendations, and uses information systems management lessons learned in studying NMPC to make internet planning recommendations of use to other Department of Defense organizations. It is written with the assumption that the reader is familiar with local area networks and accepted government and industry standardization guidelines; however, a series of detailed appendices covering these subjects is provided as an aid to the unfamiliar reader.; Lieutenant, United States Navy

Copyright of Military Medicine is the property of Association of Military Surgeons of the United States and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.; Franklin H. G. Bridgewater

At the request of Mr Kim Wilkie this report discusses the Australian Defence Force Parliamentary Program (ADFPP). This Program encourages parliamentarians and Defence Force personnel to learn about each other and their respective institutions. The ADFPP helps promote a sound relationship between politicians and the military to achieve Australia's national interests. Australia is a democratic state. In democracies a sound relationship between the nation's elected representatives and its military is fundamental to achieving national security and foreign policy objectives. Such a relationship between the Australian Parliament and the Australia Defence Force (ADF) requires mutual awareness, steady communication and a conscious effort by both sides which cannot be taken for granted. Parliamentary knowledge about the ADF has previously resided in the significant numbers of Members of Parliament with military experience. The last military veteran in the Australian Parliament is leaving at the end of 2007. The ADFPP helps compensate for the loss of parliamentarians with military experience. One hundred and eighteen parliamentarians have participated in military attachments over the last six years and have had some experience of life as a service person. The ADF Parliamentary Program has two stages. Parliamentarians participate in ADF operations for a week for a 'hands-on' experience of the Defence Force. The politicians reciprocate by hosting ADF personnel on an exchange during a sitting week in Parliament House. A dinner is held to celebrate the Program and the participants. This report assesses the ADFPP in terms of its capacity to improve civil military relations for the benefit of Australia. There has been little assessment of this Program so the report relies on interviews with parliamentarians...

BACKGROUND Limited information is available about pandemic H1N1-2009 influenza vaccine effectiveness in tropical communities. We studied the effectiveness of a pandemic H1N1 vaccination program in reducing influenza cases in Singapore. METHODS A surveillance study was conducted among military personnel presenting with febrile respiratory illness from mid-2009 to mid-2010. Consenting individuals underwent nasal washes, which were tested with RT-PCR and subtyped. A vaccination program (inactivated monovalent Panvax H1N1-2009 vaccine) was carried out among recruits. A Bayesian hierarchical model was used to quantify relative risks in the pre- and post-vaccination periods. An autoregressive generalised linear model (GLM) was developed to minimise confounding. RESULTS Of 2858 participants, 437 (15.3%), 60 (2.1%), and 273 (9.6%) had pandemic H1N1, H3N2, and influenza B. The ratio of relative risks for pandemic H1N1 infection before and after vaccination for the recruit camp relative to other camps was 0.14 (0.016,0.49); for H3N2, 0.44 (0.035,1.8); and for influenza B, 18 (0.77,89). Using the GLM for the recruit camp, post-vaccination weekly cases decreased by 54% (37%,67%, p<0.001) from that expected without vaccination; influenza B increased by 66 times (9-479 times...

Contemporary militaries depend on volunteer soldiers capable of dealing with advanced technology and complex missions. An important factor in the successful recruiting, retention, and employment of quality personnel is the set of personnel policies which a military has in place. It might be assumed that military policies on personnel derive solely from the functional necessities of the organization's mission, given that the stakes of military effectiveness are generally very high. Unless the survival of the state is in jeopardy, however, it will seek to limit defense costs, which may entail cutting into effectiveness. How a state chooses to make the tradeoffs between effectiveness and economy will be subject to influences other than military necessity. In this study, I argue that military personnel management policies ought to be a function of the interaction between the internal pressures of military mission and the external pressures of the national economic infrastructure surrounding the military. The pressures of military mission should not vary significantly across advanced democratic states, but the national market economic type will. Using written policy and expert interview data from five countries, this study analyzes how military selection...

OBJETIVO: Estimar a prevalência de hipertensão arterial entre militares jovens e fatores associados. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal realizado com amostra de 380 militares do sexo masculino de 19 e 35 anos de idade em uma unidade da Força Aérea Brasileira em São Paulo, SP, entre 2000 e 2001. Os pontos de corte para hipertensão foram: >;140mmHg para pressão sistólica e >; 90mmHg para pressão diastólica. As variáveis estudadas incluíram fatores de risco e de proteção para hipertensão, como características comportamentais e nutricionais. Para análise das associações, utilizou-se regressão linear generalizada múltipla, com família binomial e ligação logarítmica, obtendo-se razões de prevalências com intervalo de 90% de confiança e seleção hierarquizada das variáveis. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de hipertensão arterial foi de 22% (IC 90%: 21;29). No modelo final da regressão múltipla verificou-se prevalência de hipertensão 68% maior entre os ex-fumantes em relação aos não fumantes (IC 90%: 1,13;2,50). Entre os indivíduos com sobrepeso (índice de massa corporal - IMC de 25 a 29kg/m2) e com obesidade (IMC>;29kg/m2) as prevalências foram, respectivamente, 75% (IC 90%: 1,23;2,50) e 178% (IC 90%: 1,82;4...

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of sexual risk behaviors among military personnel stationed along major border-crossing zones between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. METHODS: From November 2008 to January 2009, behavioral surveys were administered to 498 active duty military personnel stationed along the three largest border-crossing zones on the western border of the Dominican Republic. Participants were selected using systematic random sampling and asked about their sexual behavior over the past 12 months, alcohol use, and mental health. RESULTS: Forty-one percent reported having casual sex during the past 12 months, 37% of men had a history of having sex with a commercial sex worker (19% during the past 12 months), and 7% of men reported a history of having sex with a transmigrating Haitian (6% during the past 12 months). Among sexually non-monogamous respondents (51%), inconsistent condom use exceeded 60% for those engaging in anal, vaginal, or oral sex. Fifteen percent reported using sexual coercion during the past 12 months. CONCLUSIONS. Sexual risk behaviors were prevalent among military personnel stationed along border-crossing zones between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Prevention programs targeted at military personnel in this region should incorporate sexual coercion and mental health as key elements of their HIV prevention programs.