The Long Aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War
Authors: Simon Wessely
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2004)

Editorials20 July 2004The Long Aftermath of the 1991 Gulf WarSimon Wessely, MA, BM BCh, MSc, MD, FRCP, FRCPsychSimon Wessely, MA, BM BCh, MSc, MD, FRCP, FRCPsychFrom King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London SE5 9RJ, United Kingdom.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-141-2-200407200-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Soldiers fortunate enough to return from war in sound body have often encountered further problems (1, 2). Nevertheless, the scale and nature of the problems reported by veterans of what we must now call the first Gulf War came as a surprise. Casualties were fortunately extremely light and the duration of fighting short. Yet with the passage of time, a trickle, then a flood, of veterans on both sides of the Atlantic began reporting health problems.It soon became clear that we were not dealing with a new disease, with anything that affected mortality (3, 4), or with any easily ...References1. Dean E. Shook Over Hell: Post-Traumatic Stress, Vietnam, and the Civil War. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ Pr; 1997. Google Scholar2. Jones E, Hodgins-Vermaas R, McCartney H, Everitt B, Beech C, Poynter D, et al . Post-combat syndromes from the Boer war to the Gulf war: a cluster analysis of their nature and attribution. BMJ. 2002;324:321-4. [PMID: 11834557] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Kang HK, Bullman TA. Mortality among U.S. veterans of the Persian Gulf War. N Engl J Med. 1996;335:1498-504. [PMID: 8890102] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Macfarlane GJ, Thomas E, Cherry N. Mortality among UK Gulf War veterans. Lancet. 2000;356:17-21. [PMID: 10892759] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Joseph SC. 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Benefits and harms of doxycycline treatment for Gulf War veterans' illnesses. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004;141:85-94. LinkGoogle Scholar18. Donta ST, Clauw DJ, Engel CC, Guarino P, Peduzzi P, Williams DA, et al . Cognitive behavioral therapy and aerobic exercise for Gulf War veterans' illnesses: a randomized, controlled trial. JAMA. 2003;289:1396-404. [PMID: 12636462] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar19. Hotopf M. Treating Gulf War veterans' illnesses—are more focused studies needed? [Editorial]. JAMA. 2003;289:1436-7. [PMID: 12636469] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar20. Hotopf M, David AS, Hull L, Nikalaou V, Unwin C, Wessely S. Gulf war illness—better, worse, or just the same? A cohort study. BMJ. 2003;327:1370. [PMID: 14670878] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar21. Zavestoski S, Brown P, McCormick S, Mayer B, D'Ottavi M, Lucove JC. Patient activism and the struggle for diagnosis: Gulf War illnesses and other medically unexplained physical symptoms in the US. Soc Sci Med. 2004;58:161-75. [PMID: 14572929] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, London SE5 9RJ, United Kingdom.Disclosures: The King's Centre for Military Health Research has been supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.K. Ministry of Defence, the U.K. Medical Research Council, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.K. Economic and Social Science Research Council.Corresponding Author: Simon Wessely, MA, BM BCh, MSc, MD, FRCP, FRCPsych, King's Centre for Military Health Research, King's College London, Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RJ, United Kingdom; e-mail, s.[email protected]kcl.ac.uk. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoBenefits and Harms of Doxycycline Treatment for Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Sam T. Donta , Charles C. Engel Jr. , Joseph F. Collins , Joel B. Baseman , Lisa L. Dever , Thomas Taylor , Kathy D. Boardman , Lewis E. Kazis , Suzanne E. Martin , Rebecca A. Horney , Annette L. Wiseman , Douglas S. Kernodle , Raymond P. Smith , Aldona L. Baltch , Christine Handanos , Brian Catto , Luis Montalvo , Michael Everson , Warren Blackburn , Manisha Thakore , Sheldon T. Brown , Larry Lutwick , Dorothy Norwood , Jack Bernstein , Catherine Bacheller , Bruce Ribner , L. W. Preston Church , Kenneth H. Wilson , Prabhakar Guduru , Robert Cooper , Joseph Lentino , Richard J. Hamill , Arnold B. Gorin , Victor Gordan , David Wagner , Cliff Robinson , Pierre DeJace , Ronald Greenfield , Lisa Beck , Marvin Bittner , H. Ralph Schumacher , Fredric Silverblatt , James Schmitt , Edward Wong , Margaret A.K. Ryan , Javier Figueroa , Christopher Nice , John R. Feussner , and Metrics Cited BySide-effects of antipsychotic medication and health-related quality of life in schizophreniaPersistence of Symptoms in Veterans of the First Gulf War: 5-Year Follow-upPerceived PoisonsModern health worries in medical students 20 July 2004Volume 141, Issue 2Page: 155-156KeywordsAnthraxArmed forcesChronic fatigue syndromeDoxycyclineEpidemiologyExercise therapyForecastingMycoplasmaVaccinesVeteran care ePublished: 20 July 2004 Issue Published: 20 July 2004 CopyrightCopyright © 2004 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...