Quality of life and health-services utilization in a population-based sample of military personnel reporting multiple chemical sensitivities

We sought to assess quality of life and health-services utilization variabl es in persons with symptoms suggestive of multiple chemical sensitivity/idi opathic environmental intolerance (MCS/IEI) among military personnel. We co nducted a cross-sectional telephone survey of a population-based sample of Persian Gulf War (PGW) veterans from Iowa and a comparison group of PGW-era military personnel. A complex sample survey design was used, selecting sub jects from four domains: PGW active duty, PGW National Guard/Reserve, non-P GW active duty, and non-PGW National Guard/Reserve. Each domain was substra tified by age, gender, race, rank, and military branch. The criteria for MC S/IEI were developed by expert consensus and from the medical literature. I n the total sample, 169 subjects (4.6%) of the 3695 who participated (76% o f those eligible) met our criteria for MCS/IEI. Persons who met the criteri a for MCS/IEI more often reported the following than did other subjects: mo re than 12 days in bed due to disability, Veteran's Affairs disability stat us, Veteran's Affairs disability compensation, medical disability, and unem ployment. MCS/IEI cases also had higher outpatient rates of physician visit s, emergency department visits, and inpatient hospital stays. Subjects who met the criteria for MCS/IEI more often reported impaired functioning on ea ch Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form subscale, compared with those who did not meet the criteria. We concluded that although the diagnosis of MCS/IEI remains controversial, the persons who met our criteria for the dis order are functionally impaired.