Thirty years of surveillance of depleted uranium-exposed Gulf War veterans demonstrate continued effects to bone health.

During the spring of 2024, 33 members of a group of Gulf War I veterans wounded in depleted uranium (DU) friendly-fire incidents were seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center for surveillance related to their combat exposure. The cohort was assessed with a protocol which includes exposure monitoring for total and isotopic uranium (U) concentrations in urine and a comprehensive assessment of health outcomes including measures of bone metabolism and bone mineral density (BMD). An audiometry examination of the cohort was added to assess for acoustic trauma and toxic metal effects in this surveillance episode marking over 30 years since this exposure event.

Hepatitis B serology testing and vaccination for Gambian healthcare workers: A pilot study.

Background: Hepatitis B infection is a significant global health threat contributing to healthcare worker (HCW) harm, threatening already precarious health systems.

Aim: To document self-reported hepatitis B vaccination history and serology results.

Setting: A select group of high-risk HCWs in a tertiary care hospital in Banjul, the Gambia.

Performance of Impulse Oscillometry in Identifying Restrictive Lung Defects in a Veteran Cohort.

Background: Impulse oscillometry (IOs) is a technique used to evaluate lung function that uses sound waves imposed over tidal breathing to characterize the airways and lung parenchyma. IOs has been particularly useful in the identification of obstructive lung defects. The present analysis seeks to explore the use of IOs in the identification of restrictive lung physiology among a group of Gulf War I veterans exposed to depleted uranium (DU).

Respiratory Health Associated With Systemic Metal Exposure in Post-9/11 Veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs Toxic Embedded Fragment Registry.

Objective: Adverse respiratory outcomes in post-9/11 veterans with elevated urinary metal measures and enrolled in the VA's Toxic Embedded Fragment registry were compared to those without elevated urinary metals.

Methods: Veterans completed questionnaires, underwent pulmonary physiology tests (pulmonary function and oscillometry), and provided urine samples for analysis of 13 metals. Respiratory symptoms, diagnoses, and physiology measures were compared in veterans with ≥1 urine metal elevation to those without metal elevations, adjusted for covariates, including smoking.