Early diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal disorders in military personnel

BACKGROUND: Subclinical conditions are a primary focus of military medicine because military personnel are routinely exposed to adverse conditions.

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the actual significance of risk factors for esophageal, gastric, and duodenal disorders in National Guard of Russia personnel in order to develop a screening model for upper gastrointestinal diseases.

METHODS: A survey included 504 personnel of National Guard of Russia aged 21 to 65 years, who had participated in combat operations. Of these, 197 were officers and 307 were contract servicemen. Their combat tours ranged from 3 to 6 months. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed in 55 respondents (22 officers and 33 contract servicemen). The rank dependence of the risk factors on endoscopic changes was calculated using paired linear correlations. The data were then extrapolated to the entire population (n = 504).

RESULTS: The effects of risk factors on disease onset differed among officers and contract servicemen for seven parameters: combat tour duration (p < 0.0001), history of periodic alcohol consumption (p = 0.0153), rushed food intake (p = 0.0020), smoking (p = 0.0116), physical exertion (p = 0.0011), consumption of chemically contaminated products (p = 0.0098), and asthenic body habitus (p = 0.0031). Using Kendall’s tau rank correlation, the relative risk, and the odds ratio, five key risk factors were identified from seven risk factors involved in the development of upper gastrointestinal disorders in the group of officers. These factors included consumption of chemically contaminated products, periodic alcohol consumption, smoking, physical exertion, and asthenic body habitus.

CONCLUSION: The evidence has been collected to support the role of certain risk factors in the early diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal diseases. It may be used to generate a screening model for National Guard of Russia servicemen.