Authors reviewed and reported on articles and books about
war-related illnesses published since 1863. Poorly understood war syndromes
have been associated with armed conflicts since the Civil War. Although
there are similarities of symptoms among these syndromes (each conflict
resulted in a new name for its syndrome), no single recurring illness
is apparent. Although veterans of each war were carefully scrutinized,
research efforts to date have been unable to demonstrate causality, have
been subject to reporting bias, and have lacked similar control populations.
Unless our understanding of health and illness improves, we risk repeated
occurrences of unexplained symptoms among veterans after each war. |