The incidence rate was 6.68 per 100,000 person-years (p-yrs) for accidental drownings among service members in 2014 compared with a rate of 11.24 per 100,000 p-yrs in 2006—the highest level during the 10-year surveillance period from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2014, according to the report published in the June issue of the Medical Surveillance Monthly Report by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC) . The overall incidence rate was 8.4 per 100,000 p-yrs for the entire surveillance period.
Approximately one of six drowning episodes resulted in death; the 162 drowning deaths during the 10-year surveillance period represented a 13.6 percent case fatality proportion, the study found. The overall death rate was 1.1 deaths per 100,000 p-yrs. In 2014, the rate was 0.73 deaths per 100,000 p-yrs, but the capture of fatal drownings could have been incomplete due to a lag in assigning a drowning-related code for some service members’ deaths—particularly in recent years.
Many military occupational activities—particularly of the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps—occur on or near water. Water-related recreational activities in or near water can also be potentially dangerous—particularly for non-swimmers and weak swimmers—in hazardous conditions and settings (e.g., storms, currents, riptides), and when safety measures are not observed.
Something like this: “At the height of the summer, this study is a good reminder to the military community that every year we continue to suffer drowning injuries and deaths among otherwise healthy U.S. service members,” said Colonel Michael Bell, the director of AFHSC. “The findings in this report offer an opportunity to our military leaders to reinforce the current water safety guidelines to service members—particularly among the youngest in our population—so that we can lessen the toll of these preventable accidents.”
Unadjusted incidence rates were relatively high among males; service members younger than 25 years old; white, non-Hispanics; members of the Coast Guard, Navy, or Marine Corps; and in armor/motor transport or combat-specific military occupations (Table 2), the report said.
The death rates were highest among males, service members aged 20–24 years, and those who were unmarried, Hispanic, enlisted, in the Navy or Marine Corps, and in combat-specific occupations. The death rate among black, non-Hispanic service members was lower than the rates of most other race/ethnicity groups, but the case fatality percentage was the highest (i.e., case fatality, overall: 13.6%; black, non-Hispanic: 25.0%; Hispanic: 20.9%).
More accidental drownings occurred in July (n=196) than any other month; slightly more than one-half (54%) of all accidental drownings occurred during May–August (Figure 2).
Click here to read the entire report. The MSMR is the flagship publication for the AFHSC, featuring articles on evidence-based estimates of the incidence, distribution, impact, and trends of illness in service members and associated populations.
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