Deployment-related Cigarette Smoking Behaviors and Pulmonary Function Among U.S. Veterans

ABSTRACT Introduction The effects of smoking on lung function among post-9/11 Veterans deployed to environments with high levels of ambient particulate matter are incompletely understood. Materials and Methods We analyzed interim data (04/2018-03/2020) from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program #595, “Service and Health Among Deployed Veterans”. Veterans with ≥1 land-based deployments enrolled at 1 of 6 regional Veterans Affairs sites completed questionnaires and spirometry. Multivariable linear regression models assessed associations between cigarette smoking (cumulative, deployment-related and non-deployment-related) with pulmonary function. Results Among 1,836 participants (mean age 40.7 ± 9.6, 88.6% male), 44.8% (n = 822) were ever-smokers (mean age 39.5 ± 9.5; 91.2% male). Among ever-smokers, 86% (n = 710) initiated smoking before deployment, while 11% (n = 90) initiated smoking during deployment(s). Smoking intensity was 50% greater during deployment than other periods (0.75 versus 0.50 packs-per-day; P