Medically evaluated psychological and physical health of Australian Gulf War veterans with chronic fatigue.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate fatigue in Australian Gulf War veterans and a military comparison group according to the 1994 chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) definition and investigate the relation with exposures.


METHODS
Comprehensive medical, psychological and reported exposure assessments of 1,456 veterans and 1,588 comparison group in a cross-sectional study.


RESULTS
More Gulf War veterans had fatigue at all levels than did the military comparison group. The findings may be at least partly explained as an "active-deployment effect." The odds ratios increased with increasing clinical evaluation of the nature of the fatigue, even after adjustment for current psychiatric disorders in addition to other possible confounding factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Medically unexplained chronic fatigue was more common, but not more disabling, in veterans than in the comparison group, but veterans with unexplained chronic fatigue had poorer health than veterans without. Within both populations, CFS is uncommon and at a similar level to the general community.
Kelsall
Helen
H
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. helen.kelsall@med.monash.edu.au
Sim
Malcolm
M
McKenzie
Dean
D
Forbes
Andrew
A
Leder
Karin
K
Glass
Deborah
D
Ikin
Jillian
J
McFarlane
Alexander
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D018923:Persian Gulf Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012307:Risk Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data