An observational study in Pollution Related Respiratory Disorder, Pollution; Exposure and Dyspnea, sponsored by University of California, San Francisco. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 24 Years to 68 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-14.
Sponsored by University of California, San Francisco · Observational
The main objective of this study is to develop baseline "normal" reference values of both lung and heart function for healthy adults within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population who served in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations.
This study will involve performing key components of the Department of Veterans Affairs the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Center of Excellence (AHOBPCE) and a VA network of Post-Deployment Cardiopulmonary Evaluation Network (PDCEN) Core Clinical Evaluation in asymptomatic unexposed healthy controls without known lung or heart disease to serve as a "normal" control comparator group for veterans evaluated by PDCEN.
This is an observational study to recruit and thoroughly characterize 200 age- and gender-matched healthy controls without a history of exposure to airborne hazards. The childhood health and disease profiles of participants will also be evaluated to provide assessment of their physical fitness as adolescents. The participants will undergo detailed clinical, physiological, and radiological evaluations that will match the PDCEN Core Clinical Evaluation, which includes administration of health, environmental and occupational exposures, respiratory, and physical fitness questionnaires, pulmonary function testing (PFT), forced oscillometry (FOT), cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) with maximum effort, dynamic hyperinflation, and exercise-induced bronchospasm protocols, methacholine challenge testing, transthoracic echocardiography, and computer tomography (CT) of chest, as well as pulmonary and systemic biomarker analysis including fractional exhalation of nitric oxide (FeNO) and peripheral blood sampling for blood count and metabolic panel including liver and kidney function.
894 studies on the registry are indexed under Dyspnea; 189 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 106 across 272 observational studies indexed under Dyspnea.
Browse Dyspnea studies →University of California, San Francisco is the lead sponsor of 2,169 studies on the registry; 372 are open to participants now.
Of its 267 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 202 (76%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Healthy "normal" adults within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population who served in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
No prior or current major organ disease, including but not limited to:
Cardiovascular disease (other than mild HTN; \< 140/90; controlled on 2 or less medications)
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
HIV
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.
Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Observational study with no intervention
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
Pulmonary Function Testing: The purpose of this test is to determine the participant's lungs' capacity.
Time frame: 2 years
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing: The purpose of this test is to determine the participant's lung and heart capacity during maximum exercise.
Time frame: 2 years
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
Echocardiogram: The purpose of this test is to determine how well the subject's heart is functioning and identify causes of cardiac-related symptoms.
Time frame: 2 years
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
FeNO: The purpose of this test is to measure a marker of inflammation in the lungs.
Time frame: 2 years
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
Forced Oscillation Technique: The purpose of this test is to determine the resistance of the airways in the subject's lungs.
Time frame: 2 years
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
Methacholine Challenge Test: The purpose of this test is to determine how irritable the participant's airways are by administering gradually increasing doses of methacholine.
Time frame: 2 years
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
Chest CT: The purpose of this test is to examine for abnormalities and to help diagnose the cause of signs or symptoms of chest disease.
Time frame: 2 years
Normal reference values for heart and lung function within the age range relevant to the United States Veteran population.
Peripheral Blood Draw: The purpose of this blood draw is to determine metabolic and blood inflammatory markers.
Time frame: 2 years
Plan to share: No
Started Aug 2024 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2030, 76 months after the start.
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