Blast Exposure and Chronic Disease in Veterans

Clinical Takeaway

: High-level blast exposure during military service was associated with higher rates of neurologic and systemic diagnoses years later.

Context

We have long recognized the acute physical consequences of military blast exposure in service members, including traumatic brain injury, pulmonary injury, and hearing and vestibular dysfunction. Less is known about the chronic health risks veterans may face years after blast exposure.

To assess longer-term nonpsychiatric health outcomes, researchers examined associations between military blast exposure and chronic diagnoses newly recorded from 2013 to 2021 among 37,000 U.S. veterans who received Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care for at least 2 calendar years. Researchers classified high-level blast exposure using self-reported injury from a blast, explosion, or bullet; risk for repetitive low-level blast exposure was estimated…

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, M.D.

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)