VA to trace veterans' medical history

By Shelia M. Poole

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center is one of 50 nationwide selected as an enrollment site for the Million Veteran Program.

The program is a voluntary research initiative, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development, that will help researchers better determine how genes affect veteran's health and illnesses.

During the next five to seven years, as many as a million veterans will enroll in the program, roughly 20,000 of whom will come through the Atlanta VA Medical Center. So far, about 350 veterans from the Atlanta system are enrolled in the program.

Participating veterans are asked to complete a study visit and health survey, allow access to medical records and agree to future contact. Indeed, the VA has one of the most comprehensive systems of electronic health records in the nation, making it easier to track the medical conditions and treatment of veterans.

Taressa Sergent, local research coordinator, said the project will lead to better prevention, diagnosis and treatment of veterans. In the future, the information gathered could have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of such diseases as diabetes and cancer.

The goal of the program is to work with veterans receiving care in the VA Healthcare System and study how genes affect health. To do so, the program is compiling one of the largest databases of genetic, military exposure, lifestyle, and health information in the world by collecting blood samples and survey data from a million volunteers, said Kendra Schaa, of the Genomic Medicine Program in the Office of Research and Development in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington D.C.

She said similar databases exist around the world. The biobank in The United Kingdom has collected samples on 500,000 individuals to study genes and illness.

Among the participants in the Million Veteran Program is Nolan Jones of Decatur.

"Some of the research they're doing would have been helpful to me today, and some of the research they're doing will be helpful to people tomorrow," said the great, great grandfather, who served in the U.S. Navy in Korea and Vietnam.

Jones, 83, said he's in pretty good health, although he does have high blood pressure and arthritis. He also said he was exposed to Agent Orange while in Vietnam.

He said some of the research will include the different medications some veterans take and their effects.

"They want to know why some medications work for some people and it doesn't work for others," he said.

To participate in the program call 1-866-441-6075.