Long-term mortality and hospitalisation among Italian veterans deployed to the Balkans: a retrospective longitudinal study based on individual linkage with national health data.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The potential health risks among veterans deployed to the Balkans have long been debated internationally. In Italy concern about cancer risk in veterans deployed to the Balkans in 1995-2004 (SEBAL cohort) originated from an initial study reporting an excess risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma. Subsequent studies have not fully dispelled these concerns due to methodological shortcomings and the lack of a national cancer registry. Our aim is to investigate long-term mortality and hospitalisation risk in SEBAL veterans for cancer and other major pathologies in comparison to the general population and to non-deployed military peers.

Methods

By linking with national archives of causes of death (1999-2018) and hospital discharges (2005-2018), long-term mortality (20 years) and

SUBMITTER: De Angelis R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12491181 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature