Assessment of Duration of Adaptation to Conditions of Learning in Cadets of Military Educational Institutions

Introduction. It is relevant to determine periods of adaptation of local and non-resident students coming from other Russian regions to learning conditions. The objective of our study was to measure duration of cadets’ adaptation to the learning environment as assessed by the incidence of respiratory diseases in view of synergistic effects of health risk factors in the Kaliningrad enclave. Materials and methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the incidence of respiratory diseases in cadets of two military universities (n = 3,381, n = 2,013) by cohorts (local and non-resident students) for five academic years in general and by year. Results. The proportion of respiratory diseases in university cadets was as high as 70.9 ± 2.0 and 52.1 ± 1.1 % in Universities 1 and 2, respectively. The share of respiratory diseases in the first and fifth-year students was 72.3 and 59.9 % in University 1,and 60.3 and 38.1 % in University 2, respectively. The respiratory disease incidence in non-resident cadets was 1.8 and 1.2 times higher than that in locals: 1,102.6 ± 6.2 versus 617.7 ± 24.5 ‰ and 477.6 ± 14.1 versus 388.2 ± 16.1 ‰ (p = 0.001) in Universities 1 and 2, respectively. We found differences in the rates of acute sinusitis, acute tonsillitis, upper respiratory tract infections and influenza, community-acquired pneumonia, and lower respiratory tract infections between local and non-resident cadets. In the second university, differences in the incidence of acute sinusitis and upper respiratory tract infections were still observed in third-year students while in the first university they were still pronounced in cadets during the fourth year of study. We suppose that they might be attributed to learning conditions, ratios of local to non-resident cadets, differences in living conditions and nutrition between the students. Conclusion. Duration of the period of adaptation of military university cadets to conditions of learning is influenced by a synergistic effect of adverse environmental factors. Adaptation of non-resident cadets lasts longer due to acclimatization to weather and climate conditions of the enclave. The incidence of respiratory diseases proves the differences in learning conditions between the universities.