Shockwaves from routine military duties associated with long-term anger and violence

Key Points:

• New research published in Military Medicine finds that military personnel in occupations with high exposure to routine low-level blasts are more likely to have medical records indicating anger, aggression, or violence, even after accounting for factors like PTSD.
• The study analyzed 3.64 million clinical notes from 10,000 veterans, using artificial intelligence to detect behavioral issues, and found 17.2% of veterans in high-blast roles showed signs of anger-related problems compared to 12.0% in a matched control group.
• Statistical adjustments for variables such as age, sex, combat exposure, traumatic brain injury, and substance use disorders confirmed that occupational blast exposure independently increases the odds of behavioral issues by 22%.
• Limitations include reliance on military occupational codes to estimate blast exposure rather than direct measurement, and potential underreporting or inconsistent documentation of anger and aggression in medical records.
• The findings highlight the need for improved safety protocols and cumulative blast exposure tracking during training to mitigate long-term behavioral health risks for service members, with ongoing research exploring the biological mechanisms behind blast-related brain injury.