Medical Treatment in the Arctic: A Retrospective 10-Year Analysis

Abstract Introduction Military personnel training and operating on the Arctic battlefield face unique medical challenges because of extreme conditions and demanding training regiments. This study aims to characterize the morbidity patterns among military personnel participating in a Joint Arctic Training exercises conducted by the Netherlands Marine Core. Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted using Epidemiological Surveillance in NATO-2 (EpiNATO-2) data from Joint Arctic Training exercises spanning from January 2014 to April 2024. Medical registrations were categorized according to EpiNATO-2 body system classifications. The frequency and distribution of illnesses and injuries were analyzed. Results During the study period of 10 years acquiring of data was complex. We were able to retrieve and analyze data from 5 years of training. During these years medical personnel provided treatment to 2,464 patients. Musculoskeletal diseases (35.51% n = 875) and dermatological conditions (22.85% n = 563) were the most prevalent categories, accounting for 58.36% of all medical consultations. Within musculoskeletal diseases, unspecified conditions (14.85% n = 366) and knee injuries (5.40% n = 133) were most common. Dermatology unspecified (9.54% n = 253), other dermatological injuries (8.94% n = 220) combined with burns (2.11% n = 52) being the most prevalent in the dermatology categories. Despite the harsh environment, cold injuries/frostbite (2.68% n = 66) and hypothermia (0.12% n = 3) were relatively infrequent. Conclusion Musculoskeletal and dermatological conditions represent significant medical concerns during arctic military training. Targeted preventive strategies, optimized training regimens, improved data collection linked to climatological and operational circumstances, and (arctic) medical training focused on musculoskeletal injuries are recommended to mitigate these risks and enhance the health and readiness of military personnel operating in Arctic environments. Future research should focus on identifying specific risk factors and evaluating the effectiveness of targeted interventions.