Inflammatory and Oxidant Responses to Arduous Military Training: Associations with Stress, Sleep, and Performance

Following arduous military training, the circulating environment in a significant portion of officer candidates resembled chronic low-grade inflammation. This circulating inflammatory environment appeared worse with poor sleep, high stress perception, and poor fitness test performance, with utility observed for C-reactive protein, IL-6, and IL-10 as biomarkers of these responses. Because inflammation may contribute to musculoskeletal injury and performance decrements, minimizing chronic inflammation during military training should be explored.