Evidence demonstrates that some Gulf War veterans are ill.
Selfselected cases and self-reported symptoms rather than clinical diagnoses hamper most of the research that has pointed to a syndrome. This is not to question whether or not any veterans are ill. A study published in last August's American Journal of Epidemiology showed how large increases in the reportage of symptoms by veterans corresponded to periods of intense media coverage. It may be possible that veterans' legitimate illnesses have been somewhat obscured, but it may also be that we are, in some ways, simply scaring our veterans sick.