Lung Problems Found in Iraq, Afghanistan Vets

Military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are facing shortness of breath and decreased fitness that could be attributed to toxic environments, a new study suggests. Researchers performed lung biopsies on 38 veterans with breathing problems and found that they had constrictive bronchiolitis—a rare condition that doesn’t often show up in young adults.

Dr. Robert Miller of Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center cited burning solid waste, burning human waste, and fine particulate matter inhaled into the lungs as examples of the airborne toxins soldiers were exposed to. Exposure to dust storms and combat smoke were also listed as factors.

In the study, Miller’s team tested 80 previously fit soldiers who no longer met the Army’s physical fitness standards. Many were members of the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and most had long-term exposure to a sulfur-mine fire that burned for 30 days in 2003 near Mosul, Iraq. Forty-nine of those men agreed to undergo an invasive lung biopsy procedure after chest X-rays did not reveal the cause of their problems.

The researchers cautioned that someone with unexplained shortness of breath who served in the Middle East may want to consider constrictive bronchiolitis as a possibility.

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