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Updated: May 31, 2026
Employing the Forced Oscillation Technique for the Assessment of Respiratory Mechanics in Adults
Published on: February 9, 2022
Rapid Survey Instrument Identifies and Correlates Respiratory Dysfunction and Systemic Health Issues in Burn-Pit
Kirsten N Wohlars1, Henry Mayo-Malasky2, Mary Lee-Wong3,4
1Northwell Health, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA.
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.
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