Gulf War illness: 10 years later
Veterans of Gulf War veterans were more likely outside the Gulf of having the syndrome e. The two conditions share many of the same symptoms with what has come to be known as Gulf War syndrome, including fatigue, memory problems and chronic joint.Conditions such as, diabetes, hepatitis, and obstructive pulmonary disease are more common among deployed Gulf veterans than among those not deployed to the Gulf. But those who have served in the Gulf were 40 times more likely to have a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, although the overall level of disease in both groups was low. Just over 1percent of deployed veterans had chronic fatigue syndrome, compared to 0.1percent of nondeployed veterans.
Between 1999 and 2001, doctors and nurses for research at VA medical centers, 16 have detailed medical history and physical examination performed on all study participants. The average age of veterans who participated in the study in question was 40, about one in five of them were women and four out of five were white.
In an editorial accompanying the study, professor of medicine at Harvard Anthony Komaroff, MD, wrote that it is now clear that veterans who served in the Gulf War in 1991, have a higher incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia , but is not yet clear whether the symptoms’ constitute a syndrome unique. ‘
There are several theories about the causes or potential causes of Gulf War-related illnesses. Some say it is a reaction to the battery of vaccinations given to those services before they are distributed. Others say that accidental exposure to certain stocks of nerve gas to Saddam Hussein is to blame.
In the latter study, the researchers examined the prevalence of 12 different VA medical conditions among Gulf War veterans who served in the 1061 Persian Gulf veterans and 1128, at the same time, but were not distributed in the Gulf. The results are published in the June 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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The scientific evidence for a distinct syndrome associated with medical use in the Gulf War has been mixed, however.
Gulf and those who do not have 10 years later, ‘he said. Disease common after World War II
The veterans were distributed two times more likely to veterans not used for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, almost twice as likely to experience frequent indigestion, and 40percent more likely to have skin rashes. Requirement is not met
But the researcher Seth A. Eisen, MD, tells WebMD that the overall message of the U. Veterans Administration study of activity is positive. ‘In the vast majority of veterans who participated in this study, we found no differences in health between those who have served in
But Komaroff WebMD that the answer may never be known because little effort has been made to track vaccinations or chemical exposures during the war.