The nature, incidence, and impact of eye injuries among US military personnel: implications for prevention.

OBJECTIVES To assess incidence rates of eye injuries in the US Armed Forces and to identify demographic and occupational correlates of risk. DESIGN Retrospective population-based study. SETTING US military medical facilities worldwide. PARTICIPANTS All individuals in the US Armed Forces during 1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Incidence rates of hospitalizations and ambulatory visits for eye injuries. RESULTS The incidence rate of ambulatory visits (983 per 100 000 person-years) for eye injuries was 58 times higher than the incidence rate of hospitalizations (17 per 100 000 person-years) for eye injuries. Orbital floor fractures, contusions, and open wounds to the ocular adnexa and orbit accounted for 85% of eye injuries resulting in hospitalization, while 80% of ambulatory visits were for superficial wounds and foreign bodies. Hospitalization rates varied widely across demographic subgroups. Men had twice the incidence rate as women, and the youngest age group (17-24 years) had 6 times the incidence rate of the oldest age group (35-65 years). Together, motor vehicle crashes and fights caused nearly half of the hospitalizations. Ambulatory rates varied significantly in relation to occupation but not to demography. Tradespeople (eg, metal body machinist, welder, and metalworker) had incidence rates 3 to 4 times higher than the overall population rate. CONCLUSIONS Hospitalization and ambulatory data provide different views of the morbidity associated with eye injuries. General safety precautions and behavior modification, rather than eye-specific interventions, are indicated to prevent the most serious eye injuries. However, the consistent use of eye protection during known hazardous occupational activities could prevent much of the morbidity associated with the less serious, yet more common, eye injuries.