BMJ  2003;327:1357-1358 (13 December), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7428.1357

Editorial

The health consequences of the first Gulf war

The lessons are general (and for many patients) rather than specific to that war

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Two papers in this issue of the BMJ describe the long term health of British veterans of the 1990-1 Gulf war. In the article by Hotopf et al the King's Gulf war illnesses research group present another excellent study, this one indicating that 11 years after the conflict the Gulf veterans continue to experience considerably poorer health than control groups (p 1370).¹ The article by Macfarlane et al examines the rate of malignancy in Gulf war veterans and shows that their overall rate of cancer is almost identical to those not deployed, even among those reporting exposure to potentially carcinogenic factors such as depleted uranium or pesticides (p 1373).² These results are congruent with other data collected in both UK and US Gulf war veterans. Twelve years after the war, and after roughly $300m (£174m; 250m) has been spent on research, what do we know about . . . [Full text of this article]

(dclauw@umich.edu) University of Michigan, PO Box 385, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA

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Relevant Articles

Gulf war illness—better, worse, or just the same? A cohort study

Matthew Hotopf, Anthony S David, Lisa Hull, Vasilis Nikalaou, Catherine Unwin, and Simon Wessely
BMJ 2003 327: 1370. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Incidence of cancer among UK Gulf war veterans: cohort study

Gary J Macfarlane, Anne-Marie Biggs, Noreen Maconochie, Matthew Hotopf, Patricia Doyle, and Mark Lunt
BMJ 2003 327: 1373. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Durodie, B. (2006). Risk and the social construction of 'Gulf War Syndrome'. Phil Trans R Soc B 361: 689-695 [Abstract] [Full text]  
• (2004). Update on the Health Status of Gulf War Veterans. JWatch General 2004: 6-6 [Full text]  

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