Impact of Open Burn Pit Exposure on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health Among Military Veterans
Abstract
The proposed study directly addresses a priority area, Burn Pit Exposure, and would give us the most extensive understanding developed thus far on this topic of great concern to many of the Veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our ultimate goal is to determine the best way to provide health care to Veterans who were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. This study offers several important strengths over previous studies: (1) We will use information from deployment records to more accurately estimate individual exposures to burn pits. (2) We will link these refined exposure estimates to data on health outcomes from medical records over multiple years following military service to see if there are health problems that continue over time. (3) Restricting the analyses to those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq during the time period in which burn pits were in use will help us pinpoint the effects of burn pits separately from any health effects from deployment more generally. We are trying to find out if exposure to open burn pits during deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq causes respiratory and cardiovascular disease among Veterans. We will address the following specific aims: (1) Is deployment to a military base at which open burn pits were used associated with increased risk of respiratory or cardiovascular disease among Veterans who obtain health care from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities? (2) Is a longer time or more intense exposure to open burn pits associated with a higher risk of disease among Veterans? (3) Does the pattern of disease among Veterans suggest that burn pit exposure is responsible for increased risk? (4) Are there specific diseases associated with open burn pit exposures that need to be studied in more detail? In order to answer these questions, we will link data from four sources: (1) deployment data for Veterans who served at some time in Afghanistan or Iraq between 2001-2010 when open burn pits were commonly used; (2) roster data on demographic and other individual attributes; (3) burn pit use across the different bases and time periods; (4) VA health care data for those who got care through the VA after deployment. We will identify all Veterans who were deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq between 2001 and 2010 and enrolled for care in the VA within a year of discharge from the service, an indicator that they are likely to get a significant proportion of their health care through the VA. We will link the time period and location of deployment to information on when and where burn pits were used. We will focus on respiratory diseases, including asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and interstitial lung disease, and cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, coronary artery disease (angina, myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass grafting), congestive heart failure, and cerebrovascular disease. To isolate burn pit exposures from other causes of disease, we will take into account any differences in age, sex, race, rank, service branch, military occupation, education, smoking, and body mass index. The Veterans in our study will be monitored through health records from the time of discharge to the end of 2017. We will find out whether a history of exposure to open burn pits is related to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The short-term goal is to find out whether Veterans who were exposed to open burn pits have continuing health problems. Scientifically, this study would help us learn more about health effects of air pollution more generally. The methods for our study could be a model for addressing other questions about the long-term health consequences of military deployment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 19, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910763
Entities
People
- David A. Savitz
Organizations
- Brown University
- United States Army