In progress
A National Academies committee will conduct a systematic review of reviews to determine the strength of the evidence base for associations among six types of exposures encoutered during military service to include pesticides, jet fuels, solvents, heavy metals, per- and polyfluroalkyl substances, and particulate matter (2.5um) and eight neurodegenerative conditions. Associations will be examinied for each type of exposure and its specified subcategories and each of the eight specific neurodegenerative outcomes. The committee will not conduct new systematic reviews or primary analyses of individual-level data but based on its review will recommend areas for future primary studies or systematic reviews.
Description
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to conduct an overview of reviews evaluating the associations between selected military-related exposures for 1990-1991 Gulf War and Post-9/11 service members and the development of the named neurodegenerative conditions among veterans:
- Parkinson’s disease;
- Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia;
- Primary lateral sclerosis;
- Myasthenia gravis;
- Peripheral neuropathy;
- Transverse myelitis;
- Neuromyelitis optica; and
- Inclusion body myositis.
The committee will identify and assess existing systematic reviews and high-quality evidence syntheses that examine associations between the following categories of exposures most commonly experienced in military settings and the specified neurodegenerative outcomes:
- Organophosphorus, organochlorine, pyrethroid, DEET, and carbamate pesticides;
- Jet fuels of JP-4, JP-5, JP-8, and Jet A, hydrazine, and diesel fuel;
- Trichloroethylene, toluene, chlorobenzene, tetrachloroethylene solvents
- Heavy metals of lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium;
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, specifically PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS; and
- Particulate matter (2.5 μm).
The committee will:
1. Describe the strength, consistency, and gaps in the existing body of systematic reviews, including assessment of methods, populations studied, and exposure definitions.
2. Summarize the evidence for associations between each exposure category and specific neurodegenerative outcomes.
3. Identify research and data needs, including recommendations for future primary studies or systematic reviews.
The committee will not conduct new systematic reviews or primary analyses of individual-level data.
Contributors
Committee
Chair
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Comment on Provisional Committee Appointments
Viewers may communicate with the National Academies at any time over the project's duration. In addition, formal comments on the provisional appointments to a committee of the National Academies are solicited during the 20-calendar day period following the posting of the membership and, as described below, these comments will be considered before committee membership is finalized. We welcome your comments (Use the Feedback link below). Please note that the appointments made to this committee are provisional, and changes may be made. No appointment shall be considered final until we have evaluated relevant information bearing on the committee's composition and balance. This information will include the confidential written disclosures to The National Academies by each member-designate concerning potential sources of bias and conflict of interest pertaining to his or her service on the committee; information from discussion of the committee's composition and balance that is conducted in closed session at its first event and again whenever its membership changes; and any public comments that we have received on the membership during the 20-calendar day formal public comment period. If additional members are appointed to this committee, an additional 20-calendar day formal public comment period will be allowed. It is through this process that we determine whether the committee contains the requisite expertise to address its task and whether the points of views of individual members are adequately balanced such that the committee as a whole can address its charge objectively.
Sponsors
Other, Federal
Staff
Anne Styka
Lead
Sheena Posey Norris
Ogan Kumova
Lyly Luhachack
Nicholas Murdock
Katie Peterson
Elizabeth Boyle
Major units and sub-units
Center for Health, People, and Places
Lead
Biomedical and Health Sciences Program Area
Lead
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