Self-reported vitality and health status are higher in Dutch submariners than in the general population.

Introduction: Living aboard submarines has a potential negative effect on health. Although studies have evaluated specific health hazards and short-term outcomes, long-term health effects have not been investigated in this population.

Methods: Veteran submariners were contacted through the veterans' society and administered a World Health Organisation validated questionnaire (SF-36) assessing their physical, emotional, and social functioning. Scores were compared with those of the general (reference) population and scores in veteran submariners were differentiated by rank, time at sea and time in service. Statistical analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon signed rank and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Results: Of the 1,025 submariners approached in December 2019, 742 (72.4%) completed and returned the questionnaire before July 2020. All 742 were men, of median age 68 (interquartile range [IQR] 59-76) years (range 34-99 years). Of these subjects, 10.3% were current smokers, 64.4% were former smokers and 23.7% had never smoked. Submariners scored significantly better (P < 0.001) than the general population on all eight domains of the SF-36. Except for 'pain' and 'change in health status over the last year', scores for all domains decreased with age. Scores were not significantly affected by smoking status, rank, service, and time at sea.

Conclusions: Dutch veteran submariners have better self-reported vitality and health status than the general Dutch population. Rank, service, and time at sea did not significantly affect scores of Dutch submariners.