Data Trends 2024: Respiratory Health

Publish date: August 14, 2024

Nearly 70% of veterans returning from post-9/11 service reported a respiratory illness during their deployment.
A study of 459,381 veterans deployed between 2001 and 2011 evaluated the potential long-term health impacts of open burn pit exposure. Median follow-up time from end of deployment was 11 years.
Data are from an analysis of > 107,000 veterans in the VA’s Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR) who served in the Middle East after 1990 or in Southwest Asia after 2001. All participants reported experiencing shortness of breath within 12 months before registering with the AHOBPR, and had no diagnosed lung conditions before enlisting. Other daily exposures included engine maintenance (9.1 days), construction (5.4 days), and pesticides (9.3 days).

References

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US Department of Veterans Affairs. Study finds uptick in lung disease in recent veterans. May 23, 2016. Accessed April 15, 2024. https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0516-3.cfm
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Trupin L, Schmajuk G, Ying D, Yelin E, Blanc PD. Military service and COPD risk. Chest. 2022;162(4):792-795. doi:10.1016/j.chest.2022.04.016
Bastian LA. Pain-related anxiety intervention for smokers with chronic pain: a comparative effectiveness trial of smoking cessation counseling for veterans. Veteran’s Health Systems Research, IIR 15-092-HSR Study. Published January 2022. Accessed April 2024. https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/research/abstracts.cfm?Project_ID=2141704797
Rivera AC, Powell TM, Boyko EJ, et al; for the Millennium Cohort Study Team. New-onset asthma and combat deployment: findings from the Millennium Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(10):2136-2144. doi:10.1093/aje/kwy112
Savitz DA, Woskie SR, Bello A, et al. Deployment to Military Bases With Open Burn Pits and Respiratory and Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(4):e247629. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.7629

Data Trends 2024: Respiratory Health

References

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