Self-reported postwar injuries among Gulf War veterans.
OBJECTIVE
From September 1995 to May 1996, the authors conducted a telephone survey of Iowa military personnel who had served in the regular military or activated National Guard or Reserve during the Gulf War period. To assess the association between military service in a combat zone and subsequent traumatic injury requiring medical consultation, the authors analyzed veterans' interview responses.


METHODS
Using data from the larger survey, the authors compared rates of self-reported postwar injuries requiring medical consultation in a sample of Iowa Gulf War veterans to the rates in a sample of Iowa military personnel who served at the same time, but not in the Persian Gulf.


RESULTS
Of 3695 veterans, 605 (16%) reported a traumatic injury in the previous three months requiring medical consultation. Self-reported injuries were associated with service in the Persian Gulf (odds ratio 1.26; 95% confidence interval 1.02, 1.55).


CONCLUSIONS
This finding is consistent with the results of earlier studies of traumatic injury mortality rates among war veterans.
Zwerling
C
C
Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA. craig-zwerling@uiowa.edu
Torner
J C
JC
Clarke
W R
WR
Voelker
M D
MD
Doebbeling
B N
BN
Barrett
D H
DH
Merchant
J A
JA
Woolson
R F
RF
Schwartz
D A
DA
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008877:Middle East; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014857:Warfare; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*