{"id":10609,"date":"2015-11-03T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T14:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=10609"},"modified":"2015-11-02T23:49:26","modified_gmt":"2015-11-03T05:49:26","slug":"american-heart-association-says-severity-of-combat-injury-linked-to-future-chronic-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2015\/11\/03\/american-heart-association-says-severity-of-combat-injury-linked-to-future-chronic-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"American Heart Association says Severity of Combat Injury linked to future Chronic Diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"

American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report<\/h2>\n

\"AmericanDallas, TX<\/strong> – Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are more likely to develop chronic diseases based on the severity of their combat injuries, according to research in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the last 13 years of war, 52,087 U.S. service members have been wounded in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The chronic diseases that may occur after combat injuries may be a hidden cost of the conflicts.<\/p>\n

\"Blood<\/a>

Blood pressure monitoring. (American Heart Association)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe more severely a service member is injured, the more likely they are to develop a wide variety of chronic medical conditions, including high blood pressure<\/a>, diabetes<\/a>, chronic kidney disease<\/a> and hardening of the arteries<\/a>,\u201d said Major Ian J. Stewart, M.D., lead study author and researcher at the Clinical Investigation Facility at David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base in California.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen firsthand that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines get the finest trauma and follow-up care,\u201d said Stewart, who has cared for wounded service members in Afghanistan and the United States. \u201cOur study lays important ground work to better understand the longer-term effects of combat-related injury on the risk of chronic disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

[quotegreyleft]Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are more likely to develop chronic diseases based on the severity of their combat injuries.<\/em>[\/quotegreyleft]<\/p>\n

Researchers analyzed 3,846 soldiers\u2019 Injury Severity Scores (ISS), which assess how badly a patient is injured, and examined its relation with the subsequent development of chronic medical conditions.<\/p>\n

Only data from service members\u2019 first admission from February 2002-February 2011 were analyzed and all injuries were severe enough to require admission to an intensive care unit. Patients were followed until they died, left the military healthcare system or until January 2013 (whichever came first).<\/p>\n

The ISS ranges from 1 to 75, with 1 being a minor injury and 75 being a severe, likely un-survivable injury. For every 5 points that the ISS rose, the risk of high blood pressure increased by 6 percent; coronary artery diseases and diabetes by 13 percent; and chronic kidney disease by 15 percent.<\/p>\n

Researchers also found:<\/strong><\/p>\n