The Gulf War and diabetes mellitus.

The Gulf war was a traumatic and stressful event for the inhabitants of Tel-Aviv and vicinity. The entire population changed its way-of-life. In order to evaluate the influence of the war stress on glucose control, we reviewed the charts of all diabetic patients attending the outpatient clinics at the Tel-Aviv Medical Centre, whose weight and glycated haemoglobin was determined between 15.1.91 and 2.5.91 (the war period), with comparative measurements within 4 1/2 months both before and after these dates. Sixty-six patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and 16 with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) were examined. During the war, their glycated haemoglobin increased by 10.1 to 10.9% and from 9.6 to 10.2%, respectively. Weight increased from 76.1 to 77.5 kg in the NIDDM and from 63.2 to 64.7 kg in the IDDM patients. Both measurements returned to baseline after the war. No correlation was found between the changes in glycated haemoglobin and weight.