British soldiers injured in Afghanistan may be at a greater risk of stroke than uninjured soldiers, new research suggests.
The findings were revealed in the ADVANCE study (Armed Services Trauma Rehabilitation Outcome Study) of more than 1,1000 veterans who had sustained a battlefield injury such as a gunshot wound or the loss of a limb between 2003 and 2014.
Preliminary data suggests that in the years since returning home, injured veterans faced a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including arterial stiffness which can be a predictor for stroke.
Professor Paul Cullinan, from the National Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College London, and a study lead for Imperial, said:
“It is gratifying to see the first findings from the ADVANCE study published. However, it’s important to remember that these findings are from the baseline data analysis, and we will be following the participants for another 16 years.
“The long-term impact of these early findings for these veterans are still unknown and will be of major research interest over the course of the study.”
In this first analysis, researchers analysed the baseline measurements of all the participants.
They wanted to see whether battlefield injuries increased the risk of metabolic syndrome.
These risk factors increase the chance of a cardiovascular event, including arterial stiffness and raised blood pressure.
Of the veterans with physical injuries, 18 per cent had metabolic syndrome compared to 12 per cent of those who were uninjured.
Among the injured veterans, 21 per cent of the most severely injured had metabolic syndrome.
The injured veterans had a higher measure of arterial stiffness according to the augmentation index, with 17.6 per cent compared to 15.2 per cent in the uninjured men.
Among severely injured veterans, the figure was 18.2 per cent.
The research team said that continued follow-up of the participants will be crucial in understanding the long-term implications of veterans’ injuries.
Dr Christopher Boos, consultant cardiologist at University Hospital Dorset and one of the ADVANCE principal investigators, said:
“Because of the advances in modern medical care, people are surviving battlefield injuries they never would have 50 years ago.
“As a result of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts coming in rapid succession of each other, we have many veterans with combat injuries for which we don’t understand the long-term psychological and cardiovascular outcomes.
“It was important to undertake this study to better understand the long-term psychological and medical outcomes of these individuals.”
