title: Spouses of Persian Gulf War I veterans: medical evaluation of a U.S. cohort.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Medical Service, St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center, St. Louis, MO 63106. USA.
authors.forename: Seth A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Eisen
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karlinsky
authors.forename: Leila W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Melvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: Han K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Frances M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alpern
authors.forename: Domenic J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Reda
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Toomey
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Battistone
authors.forename: Becky J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Parks
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Klimas
authors.forename: Hon S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Pak
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: 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*