Rapid Survey Instrument Identifies and Correlates Respiratory Dysfunction and Systemic Health Issues in Burn-Pit Exposed Veterans

OBJECTIVES: Validate a rapid survey instrument, identifying Veterans with burn pit-related respiratory disorders, correlating with multi-organ system symptomology. METHODS: Twenty-five burn pit-exposed Veterans completed the Burn Pit Respiratory Questionnaire©, a smoking survey, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ)©, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)©, American Urological Association Symptom Index Questionnaire (AUA-SI)©, and SF-36©. RESULTS: Participants completed six surveys in under 30 minutes. Veterans exposed to burn pits reported new-onset respiratory symptoms post-deployment and sleep disturbances. The BPRQ was positively correlated with worse symptoms, activity, impact, and total SGRQ scores (p < 0.05). Higher BPRQ scores were associated with urological symptoms (p < 0.05), worse sleep (p < 0.05), and poorer mental and physical well-being (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The BPRQ identifies burn pit-related respiratory disorders and associates with systemic health issues.