http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7311/0/b

 

A sixth of Gulf war veterans believe they have Gulf war syndrome

Seventeen per cent of British servicemen and women who served in the 1991 Gulf war believe that they have Gulf war syndrome, which is associated with psychological distress, a high number of syndromes, and reduced activity. This belief is also associated with the veteran having poor health, not currently being in the army, and having a high number of vaccinations before deployment to the Gulf. Chalder and colleagues (p 473) received 2961 responses (70%) to a questionnaire sent to a random sample of 4250 British Gulf war veterans. Since a combination of biological, psychological, and sociological factors is associated with this belief, these factors should be addressed in clinical practice.

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