The impact of combat deployment on asthma diagnosis and severity.

OBJECTIVES: Environmental exposures during military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan may lead to higher rates of respiratory complaints and diagnoses. This study investigates whether there is a relationship between rates of asthma diagnosis and severity associated with military deployment.
METHODS: Retrospective review of active duty Army personnel underwent fitness for duty evaluation (Medical Evaluation Board) for asthma. The electronic medical record was reviewed for onset of diagnosis (pre- or post-deployment), disease severity, screening spirometry, bronchodilator response and bronchoprovocation testing. We compared patients with and without a history of combat deployment to Operations Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom.
RESULTS: Four hundred consecutive Army personnel with a clinical diagnosis of asthma were evaluated. Equal numbers of patients had deployed (48.5%) versus never deployed (51.5%). Of those who deployed, 98 (24.5%) were diagnosed post-deployment. The diagnosis of asthma was objectively confirmed in 74.8% of patients by obstructive screening spirometry, bronchodilator response, and/or methacholine challenge testing. There were no significant differences in spirometry between deployers and non-deployers or based on pre- and post-deployment diagnosis. Similarly, asthma severity classification did not differ between deployed and non-deployed service members, or by pre- and post-deployment diagnosis status.
CONCLUSIONS: Among active duty military personnel with career limiting asthma, there is no significant relationship between rates of diagnosis or severity based on history of deployment to Southwest Asia.