Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38961410›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health : a global access science source2024

Evaluation of mortality among Marines, Navy personnel, and civilian workers exposed to contaminated drinking water at USMC base Camp Lejeune: a cohort study.

Frank J Bove, April Greek, Ruth Gatiba, Rona C Boehm, Marcie M Mohnsen

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In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health : a global access science source, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Optimizing Care for Veterans at Risk of Cancer From Camp Lejeune Water Exposure.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Frank J BoveOffice of Community Health and Hazard Assessment, Health Studies Section, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)/CDC, 6558 Parkside Way, Chamblee, GA, 30084, USA. bovefrank@outlook.com.
April GreekHealth Research and Analytics Division, Battelle Memorial Institute, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Ruth GatibaHealth Research and Analytics Division, Battelle Memorial Institute, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Rona C BoehmBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, USA.
Marcie M MohnsenBattelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDrinking water at U.S. Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune, North Carolina was contaminated with trichloroethylene and other industrial solvents from 1953 to 1985.

methodsA cohort mortality study was conducted of Marines/Navy personnel who, between 1975 and 1985, began service and were stationed at Camp Lejeune (N = 159,128) or MCB Camp Pendleton, California (N = 168,406), and civilian workers employed at Camp Lejeune (N = 7,332) or Camp Pendleton (N = 6,677) between October 1972 and December 1985. Camp Pendleton's drinking water was not contaminated with industrial solvents. Mortality follow-up was between 1979 and 2018. Proportional hazards regression was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) comparing mortality rates between Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton cohorts. The ratio of upper and lower 95% confidence interval (CI) limits, or CIR, was used to evaluate the precision of aHRs. The study focused on underlying causes of death with aHRs ≥ 1.20 and CIRs ≤ 3.

resultsDeaths among Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton Marines/Navy personnel totaled 19,250 and 21,134, respectively. Deaths among Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton civilian workers totaled 3,055 and 3,280, respectively. Compared to Camp Pendleton Marines/Navy personnel, Camp Lejeune had aHRs ≥ 1.20 with CIRs ≤ 3 for cancers of the kidney (aHR = 1.21, 95% CI: 0.95, 1.54), esophagus (aHR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.54) and female breast (aHR = 1.20, 95% CI: 0.73, 1.98). Causes of death with aHRs ≥ 1.20 and CIR > 3, included Parkinson disease, myelodysplastic syndrome and cancers of the testes, cervix and ovary. Compared to Camp Pendleton civilian workers, Camp Lejeune had aHRs ≥ 1.20 with CIRs ≤ 3 for chronic kidney disease (aHR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.13, 3.11) and Parkinson disease (aHR = 1.21, 95% CI: 0.72, 2.04). Female breast cancer had an aHR of 1.19 (95% CI: 0.76, 1.88), and aHRs ≥ 1.20 with CIRs > 3 were observed for kidney and pharyngeal cancers, melanoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and chronic myeloid leukemia. Quantitative bias analyses indicated that confounding due to smoking and alcohol consumption would not appreciably impact the findings.

conclusionMarines/Navy personnel and civilian workers likely exposed to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune had increased hazard ratios for several causes of death compared to Camp Pendleton.

Indexed as

Drinking WaterMilitary PersonnelOccupational ExposureAdultCohort StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMortalityNorth CarolinaTrichloroethyleneWater Pollutants, ChemicalYoung AdultDrinking WaterTrichloroethyleneWater Pollutants, ChemicalBenzeneCamp LejeuneCamp PendletonCivilian workersDrinking waterHazard ratioMarines/Navy personnelMortalityTetrachloroethyleneTrichloroethyleneVinyl chloride

Identifiers

PMID38961410
PMCPMC11221020

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.