The hormonal status of male combatants depending on the volume of body wounding

Abstract

Background. The massive russian military aggression against Ukraine has been continuing from February 24, 2022, and has caused the number of individuals who received combat wounds and psychological trauma to be significantly increased. After experienced traumatic events, the psychological changes appear first. They further strongly impact the physical condition of people. The acute stress which occurred after body injuring can further lead to the altering in the endocrine system. It is necessary to point out that during military conflict in Ukraine, the studying of hormonal influence on the particularities and rate of wound healing hasn’t been carried out. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to determine the connection between wound volume and altering of some hormone levels in blood serum at different stages of wound healing process in male combatants. Materials and methods. One hundred and twenty male combatants who were divided into 4 groups of 30 individuals depending on the wound volume have taken part in our investigation. The first group was the minor injuries; the second group — the moderate wounding; the third group was the serious injuries, and the fourth group (controls) included not wounded combatants. The certain periodization has been used depending on the processes which occur in the body in particular period: days 1–3, 4–5 and day 14 after wounding. The average age of patients was 34.2 ± 4.3 years, average body mass was 78.0 ± 3.5 kg. The concentrations of human growth hormone, testosterone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, aldosterone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, free triiodothyronine, free levothyroxine and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate were evaluated. Results. The activating of practically all chains and complexes of endocrine system is its usual reaction to the injury. The main links between wound volume and serum hormone levels of combatants at the different stages of wound healing process have been revealed in our research. Conclusions. The metabolic response which occurs in human body independently of trauma severity is associated with necessity of the functioning of all organs and systems at the highest level in order to save lives of victims. The altering of all kinds of metabolism occurs. The metabolic signs of urgent adaptation are formed in the acute period of wound healing process related to katabolic processes. After that, the normalization of homeostasis with activating of anabolic processes gradually occurs. A positive correlation was found between the hormone levels and severity and term of injuring of male combatants. The continuation of monito­ring the hormonal status of male combatants with the involvement of large number of participants and detailing of wound localization, endocrinological history, neurological and mental status, hemodynamic parameters and the system of homeostasis is appropriate.

Keywords

• post-traumatic stress disorder
• hormonal status
• wound healing
• combat wound
• male combatants