Gulf War Illnesses-related Medical Research &
Publications
Epidemiology
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Gray,
G.C. et al. The Postwar Hospitalization Experience of U.S. Veterans of
the Persian Gulf War. New Eng J Med 1996; 335: 1505-1513. All active
duty GW veterans were compared with a random, 50% sample of active duty
GW-era veterans (non-deployers) with respect to hospitalization rates and
causes of hospitalization for time periods before the war and 3 time periods
after the war, through September 1993. The rate of hospitalization for
GW veterans was lower than other veterans for the two years before the
war, but rates were the same after the war. Overall, during the two years
after the war, there was no excess of unexplained hospitalization among
GW veterans who remained on active duty.
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Knoke,
J.D. and Gray, G.C. Hospitalizations for Unexplained Illnesses among U.S.
Veterans of the Persian Gulf War. Emerging Infectious Diseases 1998; 4:
211-219. The authors compared the postwar hospitalization records
of active duty GW veterans and active duty GW-era veterans for "unexplained
illnesses." Deployed veterans were found to have a slightly higher risk
of hospitalization for unexplained illness than the nondeployed. Most of
the excess hospitalizations for the deployed were due to the diagnosis
"illness of unknown cause" (ICD-9 Code 799.9), and most occurred in participants
in the Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program who were admitted for
evaluation only. When the effect of participation in this program was removed,
the deployed had a slightly lower risk than the nondeployed. These findings
suggest that active duty GW veterans did not have excess unexplained illnesses
resulting in hospitalization in the 4.67 year period following deployment.
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