Establishing a 1991 Veterans Research Network To Improve Characterization of Gulf War Illness and Provide a National Resource for Veterans and Investigators

: Despite considerable research on health issues affecting the nearly 700,000 U.S. veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, fundamental questions and challenges remain. There is still no widely-accepted case definition for Gulf War illness (GWI) and little current information related to its characteristics. Nor has there been a comprehensive assessment of rates of more familiar diagnosed medical conditions. Gulf War veterans--many still looking for answers about unexplained health problems--have been anxious to participate in studies, while researchers commonly report enormous difficulty identifying adequate numbers of Gulf War veterans for their studies. This project addresses these challenges with a coordinated research effort. Investigators at Baylor University are using a multifaceted survey research strategy to obtain current information on symptoms and medical conditions from a nationally representative sample of 5,000 1991 Gulf War era veterans. These data will be used to optimize a GWI case definition, based on current symptoms, and to provide insights concerning rates of other medical conditions in Gulf War veterans. Parallel to this effort, the project is inviting a broad national sample of Gulf War era veterans to complete health questionnaires by mail or online, and to participate in the 1991 Veterans Research and Information Network (91VetNet), a national research and information resource for Gulf War era veterans and for investigators.