title: Medically evaluated psychological and physical health of Australian Gulf War veterans with chronic fatigue.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. helen.kelsall@med.monash.edu.au
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kelsall
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McKenzie
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forbes
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leder
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Glass
authors.forename: Jillian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ikin
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McFarlane
mesh_terms: 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