Mental Health Effects of Toxic Exposures Among Veterans

About the Activity & the Call for Experts

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is seeking suggestions for experts to participate in the new study on Mental Health Effects of Toxic Exposures Among Veterans.

An ad hoc committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will conduct a study of veterans to assess possible relationships between toxic exposures experienced during military service and mental health conditions and other health outcomes in accordance with P.L.117-168, Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act). The conditions will include:

posttraumatic stress disorder
depression
episodes of psychosis
schizophrenia
bipolar disorder
chronic multisymptom illness
traumatic brain injury
neurocognitive disorders (e.g., dementia)
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
suicide attempts and suicide deaths.

To accomplish this task, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requests that the NASEM complete a report that conducts an independent scientific assessment of the potential relationship between the named mental health and other conditions and exposure to toxic exposures experienced during military service, to include the following information to the extent permitted by available Veterans Health Administration health care records and other VA data, provided by VA:

Demographic (age, sex, race and ethnicity) and military characteristics (era and length of military service, military occupational specialty or specialties, service branch, service component)
History of toxic exposures during military service
Any diagnosis of a mental health condition or cognitive disorder
Any confounding traumatic experiences that could affect a veteran’s mental health

The report will include findings and conclusions based on the committee's review of the evidence, but it will not have recommendations.
Using these suggestions, National Academies staff will be looking to build a committee of approximately 15 volunteer experts in addition to collecting information for potential speakers, participants, and peer reviewers for any publications resulting from the activity.

Based on the Statement of Task, staff are looking for expertise particularly in the following areas:

Epidemiology
Biostatistics
Environmental and Occupational Health
Psychiatry/Psychology
Neurology
Exposure Assessment
Military and Veterans' Health

The National Academies are committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion in order to strengthen the quality of our work. Diverse perspectives contribute to finding innovative approaches and solutions to challenging issues. We encourage the nomination of volunteers who reflect the populations we serve and also welcome in particular nominations of candidates from underrepresented racial, ethnic, gender and sexual identity groups, people with disabilities, and early- and mid-career professionals.

We invite you to submit your suggestions by November 17, 2023, at midnight ET.

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You have the option to suggest up to 5 additional experts in this submission, but there is no limit to the number of times you can respond to this call before the close date.

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