Prevalence of Gulf war veterans who believe they have Gulf war syndrome: questionnaire study

Objectives To determine how many veterans in a random sample of British vet erans who served in the Gulf war believe they have "Gulf war syndrome," to examine factors associated with the presence of this belief, and to compare the health status of those who believe they have Gulf war syndrome with th ose who do not. Design Questionnaire study asking British Gulf war veterans whether they be lieve they have Gulf war syndrome and about symptoms, fatigue, psychologica l distress, post-traumatic stress, physical functioning, and their percepti on of health, Participants 2961 respondents to questionnaires sent out to a random sample of 4250 Gulf war veterans (69.7%). Main outcome measure The proportion of veterans who believe they have Gulf war syndrome. Results Overall, 17.3% (95% confidence interval 15.9 to 18.7) of the respon dents believed they had Gulf war syndrome. The belief was associated with t he veteran having poor health, not serving in the army when responding to t he questionnaire, and having received a high number of vaccinations before deployment to the Gulf. The strongest association was knowing another perso n who also thought they had Gulf war syndrome. Conclusions Substantial numbers of British Gulf war veterans believe they h ave Gulf war syndrome, which is associated with psychological distress, a h igh number of symptoms, and some reduction in activity levels. A combinatio n of biological, psychological, and sociological factors are associated wit h the belief, and these factors should be addressed in clinical practice.