Morbidity of wintering-over participants in the First to the Thirty-ninth Japanese Antarctic Research Expeditions: Analysis of 4233 cases

Abstract

An epidemiological survey of the wintering team personnel of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) was carried out based on the annual reports of JARE for the period 1956-1999. The total was 4233 illnesses and injuries, an overall rate of 3.8 cases per member during wintering of 12 months. The summary indicates that 45.3% of the cases were surgical and orthopedic cases, 22.7% were internal medical cases and 12.7% were dental problems. One death from a blizzard was recorded. There is no case of a general anesthetic operation, but one appendectomy was done under spinal anesthesia in 1966. From monthly records of diseases, an increase of infectious diseases during the polar night was observed, which suggests a correlation between individual sickness and season of the year. Analysis of JARE-39 wintering members indicated 199 cases affecting 38 of the 39 members, for a rate of 5.1 diseases per person. The incidence in different age groups, showed the lowest rate for the age group of 40-49 and the highest for 50 and over. Of these cases, 31.7% were related to climate and 27.6% were related to work.