Military deployment-related respiratory problems: an update

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Curr Opin Pulm Med
• Personal Author:
  Garshick, Eric ; Blanc, Paul D.
• Description:
  Purpose of review
  
  Military personnel deployed to Southwest Asia and Afghanistan were potentially exposed to high levels of fine particulate matter and other pollutants from multiple sources, including dust storms, burn pit emissions from open-air waste burning, local ambient air pollution, and a range of military service-related activities that can generate airborne exposures. These exposures, individually or in combination, can have adverse respiratory health effects. We review exposures and potential health impacts, providing a framework for evaluation.
  
  Recent findings
  
  Particulate matter exposures during deployment exceeded U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Epidemiologic studies and case series suggest that in postdeployment Veterans with respiratory symptoms, asthma is the most commonly diagnosed illness. Small airway abnormalities, most notably particularly constrictive bronchiolitis, have been reported in a small number of deployers, but many are left without an established diagnosis for their respiratory symptoms. The Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act was enacted to provide care for conditions presumed to be related to deployment exposures. Rigorous study of long-term postdeployment health has been limited.
  
  Summary
  
  Veterans postdeployment to Southwest Asia and Afghanistan with respiratory symptoms should undergo an exposure assessment and comprehensive medical evaluation. If required, more advanced diagnostic considerations should be utilized in a setting that can provide multidisciplinary expertise and long-term follow-up.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Asthma Humans Middle East Military Deployment Military Personnel Particulate Matter
• Keywords:
  Burn Pit Constrictive Bronchiolitis Deployment Particulate Matter
• Source:
  Curr Opin Pulm Med. 29(2):83-89
• Pubmed ID:
  36597757
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9929891
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  I01 BX004619/BX/BLRD VAUnited States/ ; T42 OH008429/OH/NIOSH CDC HHSUnited States/ ; VA999999/ImVA/Intramural VAUnited States/
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  2
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:237820b682b9234e00929e0e8a37a9cdeaf1604e31503c0743ec1109ca882747dbd3cd044e192647b62de78f0b289ffddb8334215ac32fada33aef2fa0a3ff08
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/124938/cdc_124938_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 530.77 KB ]