Name
#228 - Karshi-Khanabad Surveillance Program (K2SP): Initial morbidity and mortality findings
Date & Time
Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 12:00 PM
Description

Karshi-Khanabad (K2) was a former Soviet-era airbase occupied by US forces from 2001-2005 in support of operations in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and has generated concerns about adverse health outcomes. The Karshi-Khanabad Surveillance Program (K2SP) was implemented to systematically assess health outcomes associated with deployment to K2 over the next 10 years. We identified 14,995service members who deployed to K2. Two comparison groups, OEF deployed 2001-2005 but never to K2 and OEF-era that did not deploy anywhere in southwest Asia 2001-2005, were created. The comparison groups were matched to the K2 group based on age, sex, race, Branch of Service, rank, service component, and year of entry to military at a 5:1 ratio. Morbidity outcomes were derived from healthcare claims data assembled from 2001 through 2022 using the Military Health System and the Veteran Health Administration. These data provide coverage for 89% of the K2SP population with valid data. Mortality data were derived from the Mortality Data Repository (MDR), which provides cause of death data on all Veterans and service members from 1979 to the present. Morbidity was assessed using prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) comparing K2 and each of the comparison groups. Mortality was assessed by relative risk comparing K2 to each of the comparison groups and the US population using standardized mortality ratios (SMR). There was no increased prevalence among the K2 group and the comparison groups for any neurologic disease, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, or diverticulitis. Among respiratory diseases, the K2 group showed an elevated prevalence for chronic pharyngitis compared to the OEF-era (PR (95% CI) = 1.74: 1.11-2.73) and for Other Lung Disease in the K2 compared to the OEF-deployed (PR = 1.23: 1.06 - 1.42). There was a slightly elevated prevalence for all skin cancers combined in the K2 group compared to the OEF-deployed (PR = 1.09: 1.00 - 1.19). There was no increase in expected mortality among the K2, OEF-deployed, or OEF-era groups compared to the general population (SMRs for each group were less than 0.40). Similarly, there was no increased mortality risk in the K2 group compared to the OEF deployed (RR = 1.03: 0.88 – 1.22) or the OEF-era group (RR = 0.94: 0.79 – 1.10). At this point, deployment to K2 does not appear to be associated with an increase in adverse health outcomes. However, many chronic diseases and cancers have long latencies that may have not yet presented clinically given the young age of the K2SP population (mean age = 53 years) and only 16 years of follow-up. These findings highlight the rationale for continued surveillance of the K2SP that will update morbidity and mortality data annually with regular reassessments over the next 10-plus years.

Location Name
Prince Georges Exhibit Hall A/B
Content Presented on Behalf of
VHA/VA
Learning Outcomes
1.Understand the health concerns related to K2 deployment.<br />
2.Describe the K2 Surveillance Program and how it will enable VA to assess health outcomes of the K2 population.<br />
3.Describe the initial morbidity and mortality findings among those that deployed to K2.
Session Type
Posters