• Patricia Rohrbeck, Zheng Hu, and Col Timothy M Mallon.
• 779th Aerospace Medical Squadron, 79th Medical Wing, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland (Dr Rohrbeck); Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch, Defense Health Agency, Silver Spring, Maryland (Dr Hu); and Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, MD 20814 (Dr Mallon).
• J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2016 Aug 1; 58 (8 Suppl 1): S104-10.

ObjectiveThis study assessed the long-term health impact of environmental exposures associated with open pit burning in deployed US service members.MethodsTwo hundred individuals deployed to Balad, Iraq, and Bagram, Afghanistan, with known exposure to open pits, were matched to 200 non-deployed service members. Both cohorts were observed for adverse health outcomes after returning from deployment.ResultsSlight increased risks were observed for respiratory diseases in the Bagram cohort (adj RR: 1.259), and for cardiovascular disease in the Balad cohort (adj RR: 1.072), but the findings were not significant. The combined deployed cohort showed lower risks for adverse health outcomes, suggesting a healthy deployer effect.ConclusionsIn conclusion, this study did not find significantly increased risks for selected health outcomes after burn pit exposure during deployment among two deployed cohorts compared with a non-deployed cohort.

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