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Gulf War veterans' health: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort.
Ann Intern Med. 2005 Jun 07; 142(11):881-90.AIM

Abstract

BACKGROUND

United States military personnel reported various symptoms after deployment to the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War. However, the symptoms' long-term prevalence and association with deployment remain controversial.

OBJECTIVE

To assess and compare the prevalence of selected medical conditions in a national cohort of deployed and nondeployed Gulf War veterans who were evaluated by direct medical and teledermatologic examinations.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional prevalence study performed 10 years after the 1991 Gulf War.

SETTING

Veterans were examined at 1 of 16 Veterans Affairs medical centers.

PARTICIPANTS

Deployed (n = 1061) and nondeployed (n = 1128) veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

MEASUREMENTS

Primary outcome measures included fibromyalgia, the chronic fatigue syndrome, dermatologic conditions, dyspepsia, physical health-related quality of life (Short Form-36 [SF-36]), hypertension, obstructive lung disease, arthralgias, and peripheral neuropathy.

RESULTS

Of 12 conditions, only 4 conditions were more prevalent among deployed than nondeployed veterans: fibromyalgia (deployed, 2.0%; nondeployed, 1.2%; odds ratio, 2.32 [95% CI, 1.02 to 5.27]); the chronic fatigue syndrome (deployed, 1.6%; nondeployed 0.1%; odds ratio, 40.6 [CI, 10.2 to 161]); dermatologic conditions (deployed, 34.6%; nondeployed, 26.8%; odds ratio, 1.38 [CI, 1.06 to 1.80]), and dyspepsia (deployed, 9.1%; nondeployed, 6.0%; odds ratio, 1.87 [CI, 1.16 to 2.99]). The mean physical component summary score of the SF-36 for deployed and nondeployed veterans was 49.3 and 50.8, respectively.

LIMITATIONS

Relatively low participation rates introduce potential participation bias, and deployment-related illnesses that resolved before the research examination could not, by design, be detected.

CONCLUSIONS

Ten years after the Gulf War, the physical health of deployed and nondeployed veterans is similar. However, Gulf War deployment is associated with an increased risk for fibromyalgia, the chronic fatigue syndrome, skin conditions, dyspepsia, and a clinically insignificant decrease in the SF-36 physical component score.

Links

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Eisen SA
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63106, USA. seth.eisen@med.va.gov
Kang HK
No affiliation info available
Murphy FM
No affiliation info available
Blanchard MS
No affiliation info available
Reda DJ
No affiliation info available
Henderson WG
No affiliation info available
Toomey R
No affiliation info available
Jackson LW
No affiliation info available
Alpern R
No affiliation info available
Parks BJ
No affiliation info available
Klimas N
No affiliation info available
Hall C
No affiliation info available
Pak HS
No affiliation info available
Hunter J
No affiliation info available
Karlinsky J
No affiliation info available
Battistone MJ
No affiliation info available
Lyons MJ
No affiliation info available
Gulf War Study Participating Investigators
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultBiasCross-Sectional StudiesDyspepsiaFatigue Syndrome, ChronicFemaleFibromyalgiaGulf WarHumansMalePeripheral Nervous System DiseasesPersian Gulf SyndromePrevalenceQuality of LifeSkin DiseasesUnited StatesVeteransWarfare

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Language

eng

PubMed ID

15941694

Clinical Trial Links

Compare the Medical Conditions of Gulf War Veterans to Non-Deployed Veterans

Citation

Eisen, Seth A., et al. "Gulf War Veterans' Health: Medical Evaluation of a U.S. Cohort." Annals of Internal Medicine, vol. 142, no. 11, 2005, pp. 881-90.
Eisen SA, Kang HK, Murphy FM, et al. Gulf War veterans' health: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort. Ann Intern Med. 2005;142(11):881-90.
Eisen, S. A., Kang, H. K., Murphy, F. M., Blanchard, M. S., Reda, D. J., Henderson, W. G., Toomey, R., Jackson, L. W., Alpern, R., Parks, B. J., Klimas, N., Hall, C., Pak, H. S., Hunter, J., Karlinsky, J., Battistone, M. J., & Lyons, M. J. (2005). Gulf War veterans' health: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort. Annals of Internal Medicine, 142(11), 881-90.
Eisen SA, et al. Gulf War Veterans' Health: Medical Evaluation of a U.S. Cohort. Ann Intern Med. 2005 Jun 7;142(11):881-90. PubMed PMID: 15941694.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Gulf War veterans' health: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort. AU - Eisen,Seth A, AU - Kang,Han K, AU - Murphy,Frances M, AU - Blanchard,Melvin S, AU - Reda,Domenic J, AU - Henderson,William G, AU - Toomey,Rosemary, AU - Jackson,Leila W, AU - Alpern,Renee, AU - Parks,Becky J, AU - Klimas,Nancy, AU - Hall,Coleen, AU - Pak,Hon S, AU - Hunter,Joyce, AU - Karlinsky,Joel, AU - Battistone,Michael J, AU - Lyons,Michael J, AU - ,, PY - 2005/6/9/pubmed PY - 2005/6/18/medline PY - 2005/6/9/entrez SP - 881 EP - 90 JF - Annals of internal medicine JO - Ann Intern Med VL - 142 IS - 11 N2 - BACKGROUND: United States military personnel reported various symptoms after deployment to the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War. However, the symptoms' long-term prevalence and association with deployment remain controversial. OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the prevalence of selected medical conditions in a national cohort of deployed and nondeployed Gulf War veterans who were evaluated by direct medical and teledermatologic examinations. DESIGN: A cross-sectional prevalence study performed 10 years after the 1991 Gulf War. SETTING: Veterans were examined at 1 of 16 Veterans Affairs medical centers. PARTICIPANTS: Deployed (n = 1061) and nondeployed (n = 1128) veterans of the 1991 Gulf War. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome measures included fibromyalgia, the chronic fatigue syndrome, dermatologic conditions, dyspepsia, physical health-related quality of life (Short Form-36 [SF-36]), hypertension, obstructive lung disease, arthralgias, and peripheral neuropathy. RESULTS: Of 12 conditions, only 4 conditions were more prevalent among deployed than nondeployed veterans: fibromyalgia (deployed, 2.0%; nondeployed, 1.2%; odds ratio, 2.32 [95% CI, 1.02 to 5.27]); the chronic fatigue syndrome (deployed, 1.6%; nondeployed 0.1%; odds ratio, 40.6 [CI, 10.2 to 161]); dermatologic conditions (deployed, 34.6%; nondeployed, 26.8%; odds ratio, 1.38 [CI, 1.06 to 1.80]), and dyspepsia (deployed, 9.1%; nondeployed, 6.0%; odds ratio, 1.87 [CI, 1.16 to 2.99]). The mean physical component summary score of the SF-36 for deployed and nondeployed veterans was 49.3 and 50.8, respectively. LIMITATIONS: Relatively low participation rates introduce potential participation bias, and deployment-related illnesses that resolved before the research examination could not, by design, be detected. CONCLUSIONS: Ten years after the Gulf War, the physical health of deployed and nondeployed veterans is similar. However, Gulf War deployment is associated with an increased risk for fibromyalgia, the chronic fatigue syndrome, skin conditions, dyspepsia, and a clinically insignificant decrease in the SF-36 physical component score. SN - 1539-3704 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/15941694/Gulf_War_veterans'_health:_medical_evaluation_of_a_U_S__cohort_ L2 - https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-142-11-200506070-00005?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub=pubmed DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -