DNA Methylation Markers Associated with Exposure and Adverse Health Outcomes in Veterans Exposed to Airborne Hazards from Open Burn Pits
Abstract
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that 3.5 million Veterans and Service Members were exposed to open burn pits used for waste disposal during military deployments to Southwest Asia since 1990. The immediate health problems (such as coughing, trouble breathing, or headaches) due to burn pit pollution were obvious to those affected, but the long-term effects of exposure on personal health are unknown. Thus, learning more about burn pit exposure and the risk of developing long-term health problems among those who served is a top priority of the DOD research program. The VA is equally as concerned and created the VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit (AHOBP) Registry. The registry gave individuals an opportunity to enroll online and document their exposure to burn pits and other airborne hazards during military service and any immediate or longer-term health (such as diabetes or cancer) problems experienced. However, the AHOBP registry lacks sufficient details on functional abilities related to physical and mental health issues and has no biomarker data. These are important since physical and mental health problems are common in Service Members exposed to open burn pits. Scientists from Arkansas’ VA hospital and medical school have asked for DOD funding and VA permission to further investigate the relationships between exposure and health of Veterans. A research study will be conducted that will utilize the AHOBP registry information and recruit Veterans and Service Members to answer additional questions about their exposure and health and undergo a health exam and a blood draw. The scientists believe that burn pit exposure may have caused toxic chemicals to accumulate in the human body that changes how a person’s genes function and can cause long-term health problems. The scientists developed this idea from preliminary work that they have done with firefighters, who are constantly exposed to environmental pollutants similar to open burn pits. They found specific epigenetic markers in the blood associated with the decline in firefighters’ health. These exposure-related genetic markers are expected to be critical in predicting the risk of future disease and as useful tools for diagnosis, prognosis, and guiding treatment options. The study team also recently completed a case report to demonstrate the feasibility of the enhanced patient exam including COVID-related data collection. Two manuscripts were published in peer-reviewed journals. The proposed study has several accommodations built in to adapt to any pandemic-related disruptions such as conducting the interview over the phone and collecting blood/urine samples at remote sites utilizing the VA’s community-based outpatient clinics. The study will recruit 220 exposed individuals from the registry and 110 not exposed from the general population of Veterans who were deployed and but not exposed to open burn pit as confirmed by the same AHOBPR questions related to open burn pit exposure. The study will first compare how long and how much burn pit exposure individuals received to the blood test results. The study will then compare those results to individual health problems. The lab work will use the latest cutting-edge technology to discover new biomarkers of exposure and exposure-related diseases. This information is very important since the effects of burn exposure are largely unknown but potentially serious. The scientists hope this information can be used in the future to predict which individuals will have exposure-related health problems so that doctors can prescribe better strategies for prevention and treatment. The scientists also hope that their research findings can be applied to non-military occupations with high levels of exposure to air pollution.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210153
Entities
People
- Kalpana Padala
Organizations
- Biomedical Research Foundation
- United States Army