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Increased symptom reporting persists in 1990–1991 Gulf War veterans 20 years post deployment
Author(s) -
Gwini Stella M.,
Forbes Andrew B,
Kelsall Helen L.,
Ikin Jillian F.,
Sim Malcolm R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22490
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , veterans affairs , demography , checklist , gulf war , epidemiology , gerontology , psychology , history , physics , sociology , optics , cognitive psychology , economic history
Background Following the 1990–1991 Gulf War, Gulf War veterans (veterans) reported health symptoms more commonly than non‐deployed groups. This article examines symptom persistence, incidence and prevalence 20 years on. Methods In 2000–2003 and 2011–2012, a 63‐item symptom checklist was administered to 697 veterans and 659 comparison group. Symptomatology was compared using log‐binomial regression. Results Both veterans and comparison group reported significantly increased prevalence (3–52%) over time in more than half the symptoms, with a similar overall rate of increase. Half the symptoms had higher incidence (risk‐ratios ranged 1.43–1.50) and a quarter were more persistent (risk‐ratios ranged 1.12–1.20) in veterans than the comparison group. Conclusions Symptomatology increased in both groups over time, but persisted to a similar extent and had higher incidence among veterans than the comparison group. The gap in symptom prevalence between the two groups remained unchanged. These findings suggest enduring health consequences of Gulf War service. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:1246–1254, 2015. © 2015 Commonwealth of Australia. American Journal of Industrial Medicine © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.