Objectives: To identify risk factors associated with chapped lips in soldiers during prolonged exposure to a hot, dry environment.
Methods: We examined 1,053 of 2,500 soldiers (42%) participating in a desert training exercise at Fort Irwin, California, in September 1983. We measured the prevalence of chapped lips during the third week of a 4-week training period. Our independent variables (complexion, sex, lip protectant use, age, and the prevalence of recurrent herpes labialis) were obtained by observation and interview.
Results: We found severe chapping in 150 (10%) and moderate chapping in 247 (23.5%) of the soldiers. Stepwise ordinal logistic regression was used to identify risk factors associated with chapped lips and to determine the prevalence odds ratios (OR). Risk factors with statistically significant associations with chapped lips were the presence of recurrent herpes labialis (OR = 2.88), very fair complexion (OR = 3.23), and fair complexion (OR = 1.58).
Conclusions: Moderate to severe chapping occurred in approximately one-third of the soldiers. Lip protectants appeared to be relatively ineffective in the prevention and treatment of chapped lips but were associated with a lower prevalence of recurrent herpes labialis.