Activity

Gulf War and Health: Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War, Update 2009

Type:

Consensus Study

Topic(s):

Veterans Health, Select Populations and Health Disparities

Board(s):

Board on the Health of Select Populations

Activity Description

A committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will conduct a study on the health status of Gulf War veterans. The study will incorporate peer-reviewed scientific literature published since the IOM's 2006 report, Gulf War and Health, Volume 4: Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War. The committee will review, evaluate, and summarize the literature on the following health outcomes noted in the 2006 report as seeming to appear with higher incidence or prevalence in Gulf War-deployed veterans: cancer (particularly brain and testicular cancer), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurologic diseases (e.g., Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis), birth defects and other adverse pregnancy outcomes, and post-deployment psychiatric conditions. The committee also will review studies on cause-specific mortality in Gulf War veterans as recommended in the 2006 report. In addition, the literature will be examined to identify any emerging health outcomes.

The committee will summarize what the literature collectively tells us about the prevalence of veterans' symptoms and illnesses. If the evidence allows, the committee will comment on associations of the symptoms or illnesses with deployment to the Persian Gulf in general or with specific exposures during such deployment.

This review will help inform the Department of Veterans Affairs of illnesses among Gulf War veterans that might not be fully appreciated.