Insomnia โขSubstantially Increases โHealthโค Risks, Costs for Active-Duty Military, New Study Finds
WASHINGTON D.C. – A newly published study reveals a stark connectionโฃ between insomnia and โฃa dramatically increasedโ risk of both mental and physical healthโค problems, alongside significantly higher healthcare โขutilization, among active-duty U.S.โ military personnel. The findings underscore a critical, and frequently โenough overlooked, health challenge facing service โmembers and point to a substantial economic burden on the Department โof Defense.
The โฃretrospective case-control study, analyzing data โขfrom 2016-2021 within the Military Data Repository, demonstrates that newly diagnosed insomnia is โคlinked to a six-fold increase in the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a more than five-fold increase in traumatic brain injury (TBI). This research,involving over 81,000 active-duty service members,highlights the urgent need for improvedโฃ screening,prevention,and treatment strategies for insomnia within the military. The study’s results have implications for military readiness, individual โคwell-being, and the long-term costs associated wiht caring for veterans.
Researchersโ matched 40,978 active-duty service members (ADSMs) diagnosed with insomnia to โan โคequal number without the condition, controlling forโ demographic,โค clinical,โ and military characteristics. Insomnia and โrelated conditions were identified using Internationalโข Classification of Diseases,10th โRevision (ICD-10) diagnostic codes. time-to-event models were used to assess the impact on psychiatric and medical outcomes within 12 months of an insomnia diagnosis, while generalizedโ linear models examined healthcare resource utilization.
the study population was predominantly male (78.6%) and White โ(61.8%), with the majority under the age of 44โ (90.3%). Beyond PTSD โand TBI, insomnia โฃwas associated with โคincreased risk across a broad spectrum โขof health outcomes. โคADSMs with insomnia also exhibited significantly greater โall-cause healthcare resource utilizationโ across all points of service (p < 0.001). Specifically, hazard ratios revealed a 6.51 (95% CI 5.95-7.12, p < 0.001) increased risk โof PTSD and a 5.32 (95%โ CI 4.53-6.24, p < 0.001)โ increased risk of TBI compared to those withoutโ insomnia.
The study โauthors acknowledge the observational nature of the research as a key limitation, but emphasize โขthe substantial adverse medical and psychiatric burden, โขand also increased utilization, associated โขwith new-onset โinsomnia โขamong active-dutyโ personnel. The findings suggest a critical need for further investigation intoโ the underlying mechanisms linking insomnia to these adverse outcomes andโ the development of targeted interventionsโข to mitigate these risks.