Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study
Introduction: Freezing cold injuries (FCI) are a common risk in extreme cold weather warfare operations. The Norwegian Armed Forces (NAF) have the expertise and capabilities in education and training for warfighting capabilities in the Arctic. Nevertheless, a substantial number of Norwegian soldiers...
Published in: | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30515 https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2227344 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/30515 2023-11-05T03:39:43+01:00 Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study Steinberg, Tuva Kristoffersen, Agnete Egilsdatter Bjerkan, Geir Norheim, Arne Johan 2023-06-30 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30515 https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2227344 eng eng Taylor & Francis International Journal of Circumpolar Health Steinberg, Kristoffersen, Bjerkan, Norheim. Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study. International Journal of Circumpolar Health. 2023 FRIDAID 2170326 doi:10.1080/22423982.2023.2227344 1239-9736 2242-3982 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30515 Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2023 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2023 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2227344 2023-10-11T23:07:51Z Introduction: Freezing cold injuries (FCI) are a common risk in extreme cold weather warfare operations. The Norwegian Armed Forces (NAF) have the expertise and capabilities in education and training for warfighting capabilities in the Arctic. Nevertheless, a substantial number of Norwegian soldiers sustain freezing cold injuries annually. The aim of this study was to describe the FCI in the NAF, the associated risk factors and clinical associations. Methodology: The subjects for the study were soldiers registered with FCI in the Norwegian Armed Forces Health Registry (NAFHR) between January 1st 2004–July1st 2021. The soldiers answered a questionnaire regarding background, activities at the time of injury, description of the FCI, risk factors, medical treatment and any sequelae from their FCI. Results: FCI in the NAF were most frequently reported among young conscripts (mean20.5 years). Hands and feet are most often injured (90.9%). Only a minority (10.4%) received medical treatment. The majority (72.2%) report sequelae. Extreme weather conditions was the most important risk factor (62.5%). Conclusions: Most soldiers had the knowledge to avoid FCI, but they were injured anyway. It is concerning that only one in 10 injured soldiers received medical treatment after diagnosed with FCI, increasing the risk of FCI sequelae. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive International Journal of Circumpolar Health 82 1 |
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University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
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ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
description |
Introduction: Freezing cold injuries (FCI) are a common risk in extreme cold weather warfare operations. The Norwegian Armed Forces (NAF) have the expertise and capabilities in education and training for warfighting capabilities in the Arctic. Nevertheless, a substantial number of Norwegian soldiers sustain freezing cold injuries annually. The aim of this study was to describe the FCI in the NAF, the associated risk factors and clinical associations. Methodology: The subjects for the study were soldiers registered with FCI in the Norwegian Armed Forces Health Registry (NAFHR) between January 1st 2004–July1st 2021. The soldiers answered a questionnaire regarding background, activities at the time of injury, description of the FCI, risk factors, medical treatment and any sequelae from their FCI. Results: FCI in the NAF were most frequently reported among young conscripts (mean20.5 years). Hands and feet are most often injured (90.9%). Only a minority (10.4%) received medical treatment. The majority (72.2%) report sequelae. Extreme weather conditions was the most important risk factor (62.5%). Conclusions: Most soldiers had the knowledge to avoid FCI, but they were injured anyway. It is concerning that only one in 10 injured soldiers received medical treatment after diagnosed with FCI, increasing the risk of FCI sequelae. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Steinberg, Tuva Kristoffersen, Agnete Egilsdatter Bjerkan, Geir Norheim, Arne Johan |
spellingShingle |
Steinberg, Tuva Kristoffersen, Agnete Egilsdatter Bjerkan, Geir Norheim, Arne Johan Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study |
author_facet |
Steinberg, Tuva Kristoffersen, Agnete Egilsdatter Bjerkan, Geir Norheim, Arne Johan |
author_sort |
Steinberg, Tuva |
title |
Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study |
title_short |
Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study |
title_full |
Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study |
title_fullStr |
Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study |
title_sort |
freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the norwegian armed forces – a cross sectional study |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30515 https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2227344 |
genre |
Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
genre_facet |
Arctic Circumpolar Health International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
op_relation |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health Steinberg, Kristoffersen, Bjerkan, Norheim. Freezing cold injuries among soldiers in the Norwegian Armed Forces – A cross sectional study. International Journal of Circumpolar Health. 2023 FRIDAID 2170326 doi:10.1080/22423982.2023.2227344 1239-9736 2242-3982 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/30515 |
op_rights |
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) openAccess Copyright 2023 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2023.2227344 |
container_title |
International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
container_volume |
82 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1781695621787287552 |