Disability of military personnel in Ukraine for 2014-2022

Abstract

In connection with the military operations in our country, initially in the form of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), 2018 – the Joint Forces Operation (JFO), and from February 24, 2022 in the form of a large-scale invasion of the RF (Russian Federation), which led to changes in the life of the entire country, there was a need for new approaches to medical and social examination and collection of statistical information on disability and rehabilitation of military personnel. The study aims to investigate the dynamics and features of military personnel's disabilities from 2014 to 2022. By the method of a continuous sample of all participants of ATO/JFO in Ukraine examined for the first time by medical and social expert commissions of Ukraine from 2014 to 2022 (a total of 40,209 cases) was conducted. For that, the study's authors developed a separate form of statistical reporting, entitled: "Report on the causes of disability, indications for medical, professional and social rehabilitation of ATO participants for _____ year." Generally accepted methods of mathematical descriptive statistics were used for processing. Up to and including 2019, there was an annual increase in the level of primary disability among ATO/JFO participants despite the downward trend in disability rates in Ukraine as a whole. In 2020, the level of disability of ATO/JFO participants decreased slightly, but in 2021 and 2022, it increased again. According to the severity of disability, persons with disabilities of the third group prevailed (59.9% of those examined). More than half of those first recognized as disabled were identified as such not due to traumatic injuries but for other reasons, mainly due to cardiovascular diseases (32.4%). Brain traumas and traumatic injuries of the limbs prevailed among the injuries. As for rehabilitation services, the most requested were medical services, including restorative treatment, reconstructive surgery, and orthotics. The rate of primary disability of servicemen between 2014 and 2022 gradually increased, with a slight “dip” in 2020, and given the intensity of hostilities, further increases in the number of persons with war-related disabilities can be predicted. According to the structure of disability groups, most military personnel are persons with disabilities of the third group (58.8%). Most identified as disabled (62.5%) received disabilities because of diseases, not traumas. The leading causes of non-traumatic disability among military personnel are cardiovascular diseases (32.4%), musculoskeletal diseases (8.7%), and mental and behavioral disorders (8.3%).