Elizabeth J Gifford1, Jacqueline Vahey2, Elizabeth R Hauser3, Kellie J Sims4, Jimmy T Efird5, Erin K Dursa6, Lea Steele7, Drew A Helmer8, Dawn Provenzale9. 1. Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC, USA; Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy, Durham, NC, USA. 2. Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC, USA; Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Program, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA. 3. Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC, USA; Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC, USA. 4. Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC, USA. Electronic address: Kellie.Sims@va.gov. 5. Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC, USA. 6. Post Deployment Health Services, Veterans Heath Administration Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA. 7. Veterans Health Research Program, Yudofsky Division of Neuropsychiatry, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. 8. Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuESt), Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX, USA; Section of Health Service Research, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. 9. Cooperative Studies Program Epidemiology Center-Durham, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, Durham, NC, USA; Durham Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham VA Health Care System, General Internal Medicine and Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
Abstract
AIMS: This study characterizes Gulf War Illness (GWI) among U.S. veterans who participated in the Gulf War Era Cohort and Biorepository (GWECB). MAIN METHODS: Mailed questionnaires were collected between 2014 and 2016. Self-reported GWI symptoms, symptom domain criteria, exclusionary diagnoses, and case status were examined based on the originally published Kansas and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) definitions in the GWECB cohort (n = 849 deployed to Gulf and n = 267 non-deployed). Associations among GWI and deployment status, demographic, and military service characteristics were examined using logistic regression. KEY FINDINGS: Among deployed veterans in our sample, 39.9% met the Kansas criteria and 84.2% met the CDC criteria for GWI. Relative to non-deployed veterans, deployed veterans had a higher odds of meeting four GWI case status-related measures including the Kansas symptom criteria (aOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.50, 2.80), Kansas GWI case status (aOR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.93), the CDC GWI case status (aOR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.07, 2.29) and the CDC severe criteria (aOR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.79, 3.99). Forty percent met the Kansas exclusionary criteria, with no difference by deployment status. Some symptoms were nearly universally endorsed. SIGNIFICANCE: This analysis provides evidence of a sustained, multisymptom illness in veterans who deployed to the Persian Gulf War compared to non-deployed Gulf War era veterans nearly 25 years later. Differences in symptoms attributed to GWI by deployment status have diminished since initial reports, suggesting the need to update GWI definitions to account for aging-related conditions and symptoms. This study provides a foundation for future efforts to establish a single GWI case definition and analyses that employ the biorepository. Published by Elsevier Inc.
AIMS: This study characterizes Gulf War Illness (GWI) among U.S. veterans who participated in the Gulf War Era Cohort and Biorepository (GWECB). MAIN METHODS: Mailed questionnaires were collected between 2014 and 2016. Self-reported GWI symptoms, symptom domain criteria, exclusionary diagnoses, and case status were examined based on the originally published Kansas and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) definitions in the GWECB cohort (n = 849 deployed to Gulf and n = 267 non-deployed). Associations among GWI and deployment status, demographic, and military service characteristics were examined using logistic regression. KEY FINDINGS: Among deployed veterans in our sample, 39.9% met the Kansas criteria and 84.2% met the CDC criteria for GWI. Relative to non-deployed veterans, deployed veterans had a higher odds of meeting four GWI case status-related measures including the Kansas symptom criteria (aOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.50, 2.80), Kansas GWI case status (aOR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.93), the CDC GWI case status (aOR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.07, 2.29) and the CDC severe criteria (aOR = 2.67, 95% CI = 1.79, 3.99). Forty percent met the Kansas exclusionary criteria, with no difference by deployment status. Some symptoms were nearly universally endorsed. SIGNIFICANCE: This analysis provides evidence of a sustained, multisymptom illness in veterans who deployed to the Persian Gulf War compared to non-deployed Gulf War era veterans nearly 25 years later. Differences in symptoms attributed to GWI by deployment status have diminished since initial reports, suggesting the need to update GWI definitions to account for aging-related conditions and symptoms. This study provides a foundation for future efforts to establish a single GWI case definition and analyses that employ the biorepository. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Authors: Maxine H Krengel; Clara G Zundel; Timothy Heeren; Megan Yee; Avron Spiro; Susan P Proctor; Claudia M Grasso; Kimberly Sullivan Journal: Environ Health Date: 2022-01-08 Impact factor: 5.984
Authors: Elizabeth J Gifford; Stephen H Boyle; Jacqueline Vahey; Kellie J Sims; Jimmy T Efird; Blair Chesnut; Crystal Stafford; Julie Upchurch; Christina D Williams; Drew A Helmer; Elizabeth R Hauser Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-04-07 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Jacqueline Vahey; Elizabeth J Gifford; Kellie J Sims; Blair Chesnut; Stephen H Boyle; Crystal Stafford; Julie Upchurch; Annjanette Stone; Saiju Pyarajan; Jimmy T Efird; Christina D Williams; Elizabeth R Hauser Journal: Brain Sci Date: 2021-11-25
Authors: Krishnan Radhakrishnan; Elizabeth R Hauser; Renato Polimanti; Drew A Helmer; Dawn Provenzale; Rebecca B McNeil; Alysia Maffucci; Rachel Quaden; Hongyu Zhao; Stacey B Whitbourne; Kelly M Harrington; Jacqueline Vahey; Joel Gelernter; Daniel F Levey; Grant D Huang; John Michael Gaziano; John Concato; Mihaela Aslan Journal: Brain Sci Date: 2021-06-25