The Health of Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans Over Time: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Gulf War Longitudinal Study

Erin K Dursa; Guichan Cao; Ben Porter; William J Culpepper; Aaron I Schneiderman

doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000002331

The Health of Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans Over Time: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Gulf War Longitudinal Study

J Occup Environ Med. 2021 Oct 1;63(10):889-894. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002331.

Authors

Erin K Dursa¹, Guichan Cao, Ben Porter, William J Culpepper, Aaron I Schneiderman

Affiliation

¹ Post Deployment Health Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC (Dr Dursa, Dr Culpepper, and Dr Schneiderman); Hines VA Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center, Hines, Illinois (Dr Dursa and Ms Cao); Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi (Dr Porter).

PMID: 34483304
DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002331

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the self-reported physical and mental health over the course over 19 years of follow up of a population-based cohort of Gulf War and Gulf Era veterans.

Methods: A multi-modal health survey of 6338 Gulf War and Gulf Era veterans who participated in all three waves of the longitudinal study.

Results: Gulf War and Gulf War Era veterans experienced an increase in prevalence of chronic disease over time. The adjusted odds ratios suggest that Gulf War veterans not only had significantly higher odds of reporting medical conditions, but also began to report them earlier.

Conclusions: The findings from this analysis suggest that Gulf War veterans are not only more likely than their non-deployed counterparts to report chronic disease, they were more likely to report it earlier.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Gulf War*
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Prevalence
Self Report
United States / epidemiology
Veterans*