Relationship of physical symptoms to posttraumatic stress disorder among veterans seeking care for gulf war-related health concerns.
OBJECTIVE
Studies of the relationship of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to physical symptoms in war veterans consistently show a positive relationship. However, traumatic experiences causing PTSD may correlate with other war exposures and medical illnesses potentially accounting for those symptoms.


METHODS
We analyzed data obtained from 21,244 Gulf War veterans seeking care for war-related health concerns to assess the relationship of PTSD to physical symptoms independent of environmental exposure reports and medical illness. At assessment, veterans provided demographic information and checklists of 15 common physical symptoms and 20 wartime environmental exposures. Up to seven ICD-9 provider diagnoses were ranked in order of estimated clinical significance. The relationship of provider-diagnosed PTSD to various physical symptoms and to the total symptom count was then determined in bivariate and multivariate analyses.


RESULTS
Veterans diagnosed with PTSD endorsed an average of 6.7 (SD = 3.9) physical symptoms, those with a non-PTSD psychological condition endorsed 5.3 (3.5), those with medical illness endorsed 4.3 (3.4), and a group diagnosed as "healthy" endorsed 1.2 (2.2). For every symptom, the proportion of veterans reporting the symptom was highest in those with PTSD, second highest in those with any psychological condition, third highest in those with any medical illness, and lowest in those labeled as healthy. The PTSD-symptom count relationship was independent of demographic characteristics, veteran-reported environmental exposures, and comorbid medical conditions, even when symptoms overlapping with those of PTSD were excluded.


CONCLUSIONS
PTSD diminishes the general health perceptions of care-seeking Gulf War veterans. Clinicians should carefully consider PTSD when evaluating Gulf War veterans with vague, multiple, or medically unexplained physical symptoms.
Engel
C C
CC
Deployment Health Clinical Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA. cengel@pobox.com
Liu
X
X
McCarthy
B D
BD
Miller
R F
RF
Ursano
R
R
D000328:Adult; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D018923:Persian Gulf Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012803:Sick Role; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*