Incidence of chronic respiratory conditions among oil spill responders: Five years of follow-up in the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Coast Guard Cohort study

• Published in: Environmental research Vol. 203; no. C; p. 111824
• Main Authors: Rusiecki, Jennifer A., Denic-Roberts, Hristina, Thomas, Dana L., Collen, Jacob, Barrett, John, Christenbury, Kate, Engel, Lawrence S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01-01-2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Asthma; Cohort Studies; Crude oil; Dispersant; Follow-Up Studies; Gulf of Mexico; Humans; Incidence; Long term respiratory disease; Military Personnel; Oil spill; Petroleum; Petroleum Pollution - adverse effects; Responder; Gulf of Mexico; Oil spill; Dispersant; Crude oil; Long term respiratory disease; Responder; Asthma
• ISSN: 0013-9351; 1096-0953
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111824

Over ten years after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, our understanding of long term respiratory health risks associated with oil spill response exposures is limited. We conducted a prospective analysis in a cohort of U.S. Coast Guard personnel with universal military healthcare.
For all active duty cohort members (N = 45,193) in the DWH Oil Spill Coast Guard Cohort Study we obtained medical encounter data from October 01, 2007 to September 30, 2015 (i.e., ~2.5 years pre-spill; ~5.5 years post-spill). We used Cox Proportional Hazards regressions to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHR), comparing risks for incident respiratory conditions/symptoms (2010–2015) for: responders vs. non-responders; responders reporting crude oil exposure, any inhalation of crude oil vapors, and being in the vicinity of burning crude oil versus responders without those exposures. We also evaluated self-reported crude oil and oil dispersant exposures, combined. Within-responder comparisons were adjusted for age, sex, and smoking.
While elevated aHRs for responder/non-responder comparisons were generally weak, within-responder comparisons showed stronger risks with exposure to crude oil. Notably, for responders reporting exposure to crude oil via inhalation, there were elevated risks for allsinusitis (aHR = 1.48; 95%CI, 1.06–2.06), unspecified chronic sinusitis (aHR = 1.55; 95%CI, 1.08–2.22), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other allied conditions (aHR = 1.43; 95%CI, 1.00–2.06), and dyspnea and respiratory abnormalities (aHR = 1.29; 95%CI, 1.00–1.67); there was a suggestion of elevated risk for diseases classified as asthma and reactive airway diseases (aHR = 1.18; 95%CI, 0.98–1.41), including the specific condition, asthma (aHR = 1.35; 95%CI, 0.80–2.27), the symptom, shortness of breath (aHR = 1.50; 95%CI, 0.89–2.54), and the overall classification of chronic respiratory conditions (aHR = 1.18; 95%CI, 0.98–1.43). Exposure to both crude oil and dispersant was positively associated with elevated risk for shortness of breath (HR = 2.24; 95%CI, 1.09–4.64).
Among active duty Coast Guard personnel, oil spill clean-up exposures were associated with moderately increased risk for longer term respiratory conditions.
•This study focused on Coast Guard responders to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.•Health outcomes were assessed via the Military Health System health encounter data.•Crude oil exposure increased risk for longer-term respiratory conditions/symptoms.•Findings were strongest for those reporting inhalation of crude oil vapors.