N/A
N=12
High-Intensity Interval Training to Improve Symptoms of Deployment-Related Respiratory Disease
Occupational Exposure
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05849168 ↗Enrolled (actual)
12
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Jan 2026
Primary outcome: Primary: Maximum Oxygen Consumption (VO2max) — 26.4 ml/kg/min
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- Exercise training (Behavioral)
- Age
- Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- University of Colorado, Denver
- Primary completion
- Jul 2024
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Maximum Oxygen Consumption (VO2max) |
26.4 | — |
| PRIMARY Health-related Quality of Life by Short Form 36 (SF-36) Questionnaire |
67 | — |
| SECONDARY Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Measured by Transthoracic Echocardiogram |
60 | — |
| SECONDARY Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion Measured by Transthoracic Echocardiogram |
26 | — |
| SECONDARY Plasma Acylcarnitine 10:0 Measured by Peripheral Venous Metabolomics (Ultra-high Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Mass Spectrometry) |
4448588 | — |
| SECONDARY Feasibility of Exercise Program, Reported by Participant and Measured by Responses to Questionnaire |
5 | — |
Summary
Some military personnel who have been exposed to burn pit emissions, desert dust, and other airborne hazards experience new respiratory symptoms after deployment. The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about exercise in veterans with new respiratory symptoms after deployment to Southwest Asia. The main questions it aims to answer are:
1. Do veterans with new respiratory symptoms after deployment have heart or lung abnormalities that contribute to difficulty exercising?
2. Does high-intensity interval training (HIIT) improve fitness and symptoms?
Study participants will complete the following:
1. Study Visits 1A and 1B: Exercise test (VO2max test), echocardiogram (heart ultrasound), blood tests, questionnaires
2. Exercise program: 12 weeks of 3x/week supervised HIIT on upright stationary bicycle (~40 minutes each) and 3x/week home aerobic exercise (45 minutes each)
3. Study Visits 2A and 2B: Exercise test (VO2max test), echocardiogram (heart ultrasound), blood tests, questionnaires
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Deployment of ≥30 days to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, or Djibouti after September 2001
- New onset of cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness/wheezing, dyspnea on exertion or exercise intolerance which started during or after deployment
- Definite or probable distal lung disease (≥1 hyperinflation, emphysema, bronchiolitis, small airways inflammation, peribronchiolar fibrosis, or granulomatous pneumonitis on surgical lung biopsy; or ≥2 centrilobular nodularity, air trapping, mosaicism, or bronchial wall thickening on chest computed tomography [CT]), definite or probable deployment-related asthma (≥1 increase in post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1] ≥12% and ≥200cc, or methacholine challenge with provocation concentration causing a 20% decline in FEV1 [PC20] ≤16 mg/mL), or unexplained dyspnea on exertion or exercise intolerance despite noninvasive testing including pulmonary function testing, methacholine challenge, transthoracic echocardiography, and/or chest computed tomography
- Current symptoms of dyspnea on exertion or exercise intolerance
- Residence 160/100 despite antihypertensive therapy, known hypertensive response to exercise [systolic blood pressure >220 mmHg in men / >190 mmHg in women], coronary artery disease, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45% or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction with ongoing symptoms despite diuretic therapy, uncontrolled arrhythmia, moderate or severe valvular abnormality, diabetes with HbA1c >8.5%, asthma exacerbation requiring steroids within 4 weeks of enrollment, interstitial lung disease, untreated severe obstructive sleep apnea)
- Pre-deployment history of cardiovascular or pulmonary disease including coronary artery disease, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤45% or heart failure with preserved ejection fraction requiring diuretic therapy, arrhythmia, valvular abnormality, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma (excluding childhood asthma that did not persist into adulthood), interstitial lung disease, or pulmonary hypertension
- Body mass index 45
- Anemia with hemoglobin 30 minutes at metabolic equivalents [METs] >6 3 times/week or more)
- Pregnancy or possible anticipated pregnancy during study duration
- Post-menopausal status in women
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05849168). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.