Attrition of military enlistees with a medical waiver for myopia, 1999-2001

• Published in: Military medicine Vol. 171; no. 11; pp. 1137 - 1141
• Main Authors: Otto, William C, Niebuhr, David W, Powers, Timothy E, Krauss, Margot R, McVeigh, Francis L, Tarbett, Aaron K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.11.2006
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Employment - statistics & numerical data; Eye surgery; Female; Government Regulation; Humans; Male; Military Medicine - standards; Military Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Military service; Myopia; Myopia - classification; Myopia - diagnosis; Physical Fitness; Reproducibility of Results; Retrospective Studies; Survival analysis; Teenagers; United States; Visual acuity; Visual Acuity - physiology; Work Capacity Evaluation; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0026-4075; 1930-613X
• DOI: 10.7205/MILMED.171.11.1137

Military service requires physical fitness, including vision within set standards. Premature attrition inflicts a considerable manpower and fiscal burden upon the military. We conducted a retrospective cohort survival analysis of newly enlisted military personnel who entered active duty with a medical waiver for myopia between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2001. Premature attrition rates, both medical and overall, were compared with those for a matched, fully qualified, comparison group. New enlistees with a waiver for myopia had the same probability of remaining on active duty through the first 2 years of service as did fully qualified peers. Enlistees with a waiver for myopia also had a low probability of an early medical discharge for myopia. The results of this study tend to validate the current branch-specific myopia waiver processes. They also provide evidence that current myopia accession criteria may be too restrictive and in need of policy review.