Integrative Network Analysis Linking Clinical Outcomes With Environmental Exposures and Molecular Variations in Service Personnel Deployed to Balad and Bagram.

Objective: To develop a computational approach to link clinical outcomes with environmental exposures and molecular variations measured in Department of Defense (DOD) serum-repository samples.

Methods: International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Division codes which corresponded to cardiopulmonary symptoms for service personnel were selected to test for associations with deployment-related inhalation hazards and metabolomics, micro-RNA, cytokine, plasma markers, and environmental exposure analyses for corresponding samples. xMWAS and Mummichog were used for integrative network and pathway analysis.

Results: Comparison between 41 personnel exhibiting new cardio-pulmonary diagnoses after deployment start-date to 25 personnel exhibiting no symptoms identified biomarkers associated with cardiopulmonary conditions. Integrative network and pathway analysis showed communities of clinical, molecular, and environmental markers associated with fatty acid, lipid, nucleotide, and amino acid metabolism pathways.

Conclusions: The current proof of principle study establishes a computational framework for integrative analysis of deployment-related exposures, molecular responses, and health outcomes.