Spectrum and impact of health problems during deployment: A prospective, multicenter study of French soldiers operating in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Côte d'Ivoire

SummaryBackgroundMore than 15 000 French soldiers are continuously deployed abroad. Along with combat-related injuries, they are exposed to non-combat-related diseases with an underestimated burden. Our objectives were to assess the incidence and impact of health problems on their operating capacity.MethodsA prospective multicenter study was conducted over more than three months in Lebanon, Côte d'Ivoire and Afghanistan including exclusively French soldiers.ResultsWe collected 4349 consultations (Afghanistan {n = 719}, Lebanon {n = 1401} and Côte d'Ivoire {n = 2229}) encompassing 4600 health problems. Injuries (21%), diarrhea (19%), dermatoses (17.5%) and respiratory tract infections (10.45%) were the most frequent health issues. Infectious diseases represented 41% of all health problems. Almost nine out of ten patients were managed as outpatients. Ten combat-related deaths were observed. We reported 68 (1.5%) medical repatriations of which 28 and 26 were psychiatric and trauma cases respectively. Partial or complete incapacity was estimated 724 days/1000 men/month. Etiological spectrum was similar in all three countries however, the incidence of diarrhea (p < 0.05) as well as inpatient management and medical evacuation rates were higher (p < 0.0001) in Afghanistan.ConclusionsThere was a wide spectrum of health problems occurring during military deployments with a predominance of common infections. Non-combat-related pathology represented an important burden for the loss of operating capacity.