The Canadian Forces Cancer And Mortality Study - Military Life is Safer that Average

[The Bread Guy]

From a CF news release:

The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, and the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced today that the Government of Canada will be conducting a Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study.

The health study is funded and led by Canadian Forces Health Services Group at the Department of National Defence (DND) in collaboration with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and Statistics Canada. The study will provide essential information about causes of death and incidence of cancer among CF personnel who have enrolled since 1972.

"The Government of Canada is pleased to announce this initiative as it allows health care professionals with the Department of National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada to have a better picture of the health of military personnel. The data may well help mitigate occupational risks for serving personnel and improve opportunities for prevention," explains Minister MacKay. "As Canadian Forces personnel are protecting Canadians and contributing to international missions, they are exposed to unusual circumstances and environments. This study will help shape health policies and programs to ensure the Government of Canada is doing its utmost to protect Canadian troops."

"It is important for us to be involved with this study," says Minister Blackburn. "This research, the first of its kind in Canada, will help us ensure that appropriate services are in place for Veterans, and that our programs meet the needs of all Veterans and their families, now and in the future."

The study cohort includes an estimated 315,000 serving and former military personnel, who enrolled in the CF after January 1, 1972. DND, VAC and Statistics Canada will collaborate on the linkage of the military cohort database to the national mortality and cancer databases in order to determine mortality rates and cancer incidence. Initial mortality results are expected to be available in 2011, while cancer linkage and analysis will be conducted from 2011 to 2012.

More on the Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study here.

 

[Occam]

It would be interesting to compare the statistics gleaned from this study against the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), which I've participated in faithfully since its inception in 1994. 

Well, if StatsCan didn't have their funding cut and ended up cancelling the NPHS, that is.

 

[dogger1936]

WOW!!!

A way to appear to care for the vet's without actually having to do much!!!

THANK YOU!!

I guess is we "mirror canadian society"..... no need for concern....nothing to see here.

 

[Armymedic]

This will be a continuation of the work done with this study about what kills CF soldiers:

http://forums.milnet.ca/forums/threads/93100.0.html

It has really nothing to do with helping vets right now...but it sure will look good to say that "we are looking into that".

 

[brihard]

It would be interesting to compare the statistics gleaned from this study against the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), which I've participated in faithfully since its inception in 1994. 

Well, if StatsCan didn't have their funding cut and ended up cancelling the NPHS, that is.

No kidding. The outright assault on Statscan is one of the government's more grievous malfeasances.

 

[McG]

Military life safer than the average
Soldiers less likely to die of cancer, heart disease, new study finds
Ottawa Citizen
Derek Abma And Bradley Bouzane
21 Jun 11

Despite the obvious risks, new data shows Canadian soldiers have a significantly lower death rate than the general population.

Statistics Canada's Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study, which looked at soldiers' health over more than three decades, shows those who enlisted in the Canadian Forces between the start of 1972 and the end of 2006 had a 35-per-cent lower chance of dying of any cause within those years in Canada than the average person.

"Canadian Forces personnel, in order to get in, have to pass a certain medical standard and a certain physical standard, so we're generally a healthy population to start with," said Col. Colin MacKay, who co-chaired the study's advisory committee and also served as director of Force Health Protection.

"It's hard to say whether that full 35-per-cent reduction in risk for mortality for all causes is attributable to the healthy worker effect. There may still be some effect from the culture within the Canadian Forces, where we try to promote health and physical fitness."

Out of the 188,161 people who enrolled in the Canadian military between 1972 and 2006, 3,969 deaths were counted.

This didn't include the 44 soldiers killed in combat in Afghanistan as of the end of 2006 -or even the 156 who have now been killed. However, those deaths would represent only a small proportion of military deaths. Statistics Canada analyst JeanMichel Billette said the effect of hypothetically including combat deaths in the report would not have "changed the figures significantly."

Among men, the figures showed military members had a 36-per-cent lower death rate than the general population over this time, and it was 33-per-cent lower for women.

"The results from CF CAMS (Canadian Forces Cancer and Mortality Study) suggest a healthy population of serving and released personnel with lower mortality rates for most causes of deaths," the Canadian Forces said in a statement on its website.

But part of the data flagged by the Forces for further analysis was the finding that female soldiers ages 40 to 44 were 2.1 times more likely to commit suicide than the general population within this demographic. It was deemed a "statistically significant" finding, but a relatively small number overall -13 suicides over the 35 years, 12 of whom were women released from the military at their time of death.

The report also showed male soldiers, once released, were 1.46 times more likely to commit suicide than the average person. The data shows 696 male soldiers committed suicide after their release.

Those with less than 10 years of service had a 2.7 per cent higher suicide rate than those with lengthier stints in the Canadian Forces.

Looking at all age groups of soldiers enrolled in the military, the suicide rates for both males and females were not considered to differ significantly from the general population.

In recent years, the Canadian Forces has taken steps to reduce the prevalence of suicide, including the establishment of operational stress and trauma treatment centres.

The report also showed Forces members were far less likely to get fatal cancers and cardiovascular conditions.

Males had a 40 per cent lower risk of dying from cancers than the general population. Women had about a 25 per cent lower instance.

Men in the Forces had about a 55 per cent lower risk of death from heart disease, while women saw a 60 per cent reduction.

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Lets see here: Could it be that we have less cancers and heart problems because, as a group, we tend to eat better, exercise more and generally are more health-freaky than the average population?

Damn, what did I just do to the need for their research !!!

 

[toyotatundra]

Lets see here: Could it be that we have less cancers and heart problems because, as a group, we tend to eat better, exercise more and generally are more health-freaky than the average population?

There are numerous decades-long, or large sample size, studies suggesting regular physical activity reduces the risk of cancer.

Example: http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/2001/06001/Physical_activity_and_cancer_risk__dose_response.25.aspx