VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP)

Investigator Access

What's Available

• Research data: Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in the primary publication. (SAS, Stata, SPSS, Excel, CSV, and text file formats)
• Participant contact information: Name and contact information of participants granting permission to be contacted for further research. (Contact information will be available in SAS, Stata, SPSS, Excel, CSV, and text file formats) 

Available Documentation 

Check with the study contact and publications for information on a public dataset, data archive, data enclave, or website where data might be available.

Dates Data are Available 

Upon completion of the study objectives and following publication of the primary manuscript (estimated 2024) 

Access Criteria

Research resources will be made available through the CSP #595 Repository. Once available, investigators associated with VA or non-VA nonprofit, academic, or research institutions can submit requests for access via a Research Resource Request form.

All requests will be reviewed for scientific and ethical merit.  Once a request is approved, access to data is contingent upon approval by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Research and Development (R&D) Committee. In addition, requestors must be fully compliant with VA data security, privacy and human subjects requirements. This may involve implementation of data access agreements.  Allowable analyses include those designed to achieve the aims in the approved proposal.  

Study Characteristics

Objectives

Characterize the impact of deployment-related pollution exposures during the Post-9/11 Gulf War Era on current respiratory health using objectively ascertained and standardized physiologic and epidemiologic measures.

Era of Service

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)
Operation New Dawn (OND)

Population

Inclusion criteria:

1. Served during the Post-9/11 Gulf War Era in a service branch that had land-based deployments (i.e., Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps)
2. Deployed to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, or Djibouti after October 1, 2001

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Active duty at the time of recruitment
2. Impaired decision-making capacity
3. No English language proficiency
4. Prisoners

Study Design 

Cross-sectional cohort

Time Period 

2018 - 2022

Setting 

National

N

N (target) = 6,200 participants (recruitment ongoing)

Response Rate

Unconfirmed

Recruitment Method    

Eligible Veterans identified from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) records for all military personnel who served during the period of interest.  Recruitment packets are mailed to Veterans who live within the catchment area of six VA recruitment sites for the in-person assessment with follow-up telephone calls to non-responders. Those wishing to participate are scheduled for a study visit.

Compensation

$250 for in-person assessment

Data Collected

Data collected on demographic and personal characteristics and a range of health-related indicators such as:

• Respiratory and general health history
• Personal habits, such as smoking and alcohol use
• Measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and quality of life
• Deployment and non-deployment military history
• Civilian job and residential history
• Occupational exposure history
• Pulmonary function

Data Collection Methods

• Pulmonary function assessed via spirometry with bronchodilation
• Anthropometrics
• Structured interview modules
• Self-administered questionnaires

Funding Source 

VA Cooperative Studies Program (CSP)

Contact 

SeattleCSPEC@va.gov   /   1-800-329-8387, extension 62735

Selected Publications 

Unconfirmed

More Information

• Study website
• Study ClinicalTrials.gov site
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02825654
• Dimensions for VA summary (Requires an account to access outside the VA network. Dimensions for VA is a database that connects publications, grants, patents, clinical trials, and policy documents)