Spouses of Persian Gulf War I veterans: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort.
Ten years after the 1991 Persian Gulf War (GW I), a comprehensive evaluation of a national cohort of deployed veterans (DV) demonstrated a higher prevalence of several medical conditions, in comparison to a similarly identified cohort of nondeployed veterans (NDV). The present study determined the prevalence of medical conditions among nonveteran spouses of these GW I DV and NDV. A cohort of 490 spouses of GW I DV and 537 spouses of GW I NDV underwent comprehensive face-to-face examinations. No significant differences in health were detected except that spouses of DV were less likely to have one or more of a group of six common skin conditions. We conclude that, 10 years after GW I, the general physical health of spouses of GW I DV is similar to that of spouses of NDV.
Eisen
Seth A
SA
Medical Service, St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, St. Louis, MO 63106. USA.
Karlinsky
Joel
J
Jackson
Leila W
LW
Blanchard
Melvin
M
Kang
Han K
HK
Murphy
Frances M
FM
Alpern
Renee
R
Reda
Domenic J
DJ
Toomey
Rosemary
R
Battistone
Michael J
MJ
Parks
Becky J
BJ
Klimas
Nancy
N
Pak
Hon S
HS
Hunter
Joyce
J
Lyons
Michael J
MJ
Henderson
William G
WG
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D047830:Gulf War; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine; D015995:Prevalence; D018454:Spouses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*