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C. Pollet, B. Natelson, G. Lange, L. Tiersky, J. DeLuca,
T. Policastro, N. Fiedler, and H. Kipen
East Orange DVA Medical Center
The study was conducted to determine if Gulf War veterans
with complaints of severe fatigue and/or chemical sensitivity (n=72) fulfill
the CDC case definitions for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and/or a diagnosis
of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). Also, we compared the demographics
and severity of those veterans who received a diagnosis of CFS (n = 24)
to a group of nonveterans diagnosed with CFS (n = 95). The subjects were
72 veterans with complaints of fatigue and/or chemical sensitivity obtained
from the Persian Gulf Registry. Each of these veterans completed a screening
questionnaire developed and used in our civilian Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Center to identify potential study patients. Upon meeting pencil and paper
criteria for CFS and/or MCS, the veteran underwent an extensive medical
evaluation (including medical history, physical examination, and rule
out laboratory blood work) and a psychological evaluation using the Q-DIS,
a computerized diagnostic interview designed to provide DSM-III-R diagnoses
of Axis-I psychiatric disorders. Frequency data were tested for significant
differences between groups using Fisher’s test; continuous data were
tested for significance between groups using Wilcoxan’s tests.
Thirty-three veterans received a diagnosis of CFS and 14
of these had concurrent MCS. An additional 6 veterans had MCS but did
not fulfill a case definition for CFS. The veterans with CFS had significantly
fewer women (p = 0.0001), Caucasians (p = 0.001), and sudden onset of
illness (p = 0.0001) when compared to the civilian group. Veterans with
CFS had a milder form of the illness than their civilian counterparts
based on medical assessment of severity of symptoms (p = 0.0001), reported
days of reduced activity (p = 0.01), and ability to work (p = 0.002).
There were no differences in prevalence of premorbid Axis-I diagnosis
in the two groups.
Since CFS in veterans seems less severe than that seen in
civilians, the prognosis for recovery of veterans with this disorder may
be better.
Keywords: Gulf War Illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
This work was supported by DVA Medical Research Funds and
the DVA New Jersey Center for Environmental Hazards Research |
