title: Antibodies to squalene in US Navy Persian Gulf War veterans with chronic multisymptom illness.
abstract: Since the end of the 1991 Gulf War, there have been reports of unexplained, multisymptom illnesses afflicting veterans who consistently report more symptoms than do nondeployed veterans. One of the many possible exposures suspected of causing chronic multisymptom illnesses Gulf War veterans is squalene, thought to be present in anthrax vaccine. We examined the relationship between squalene antibodies and chronic symptoms reported by Navy construction workers (Seabees), n=579. 30.2% were deployers, 7.4% were defined as ill, and 43.5% were positive for squalene antibodies. We found no association between squalene antibody status and chronic multisymptom illness (p=0.465). The etiology of Gulf War syndrome remains unknown, but should not include squalene antibody status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Defense Center for Deployment Health Research, Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, CA 92106-3521, USA. chris.phillips@med.navy.mil
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Gary R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Matyas
authors.forename: Christian J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Carl R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Alving
authors.forename: Tyler C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Margaret A K
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ryan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D022122:Anthrax Vaccines / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013185:Squalene / Q000276:immunology*; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans
chemical_list: D022122:Anthrax Vaccines; D000906:Antibodies; D013185:Squalene