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From the Boston VA Medical Center (J.W., S.P.P., D.J.E., T.H., M.T.H., R.F.W.), Boston University School of Medicine (J.W., S.P.P., R.F.W.), and Boston University School of Public Health (S.P.P., T.H., R.F.W.), Boston, MA; VA Medical and Regional Office Center, White River Junction, VT; Dartmouth Medical School (M.J.F.), Hanover, NH; and New Orleans VA Medical Center and Tulane University School of Medicine (P.B.S., J.J.V.), New Orleans, LA.
Address reprint requests to: Jessica Wolfe, Women’s Health Sciences Division (116B-3), National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Boston VA Medical Center, 150 S. Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130. Email: jessica.wolfe{at}med.va.gov
OBJECTIVE: A growing body of research has shown that there are important links between certain psychiatric disorders and health symptom reporting. Two disorders in particular (posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression) have been the most widely implicated to date, and this association has sometimes been used to explain the occurrence of ill-defined medical problems and increased somatic symptoms in certain groups, most recently Gulf War veterans.
METHODS: Structured psychiatric diagnostic interviews were used to examine the presence of major psychiatric (axis I) disorders and their relation to health symptom reporting in a well-characterized, stratified subset of Gulf War veterans and a non-Gulf-deployed veteran comparison group.
RESULTS: Rates of most psychiatric disorders were substantially lower than national comorbidity estimates, consistent with prior studies showing heightened physical and emotional well-being among active-duty military personnel. Rates of PTSD and major depression, however, were significantly elevated relative to the veteran comparison group. The diagnosis of PTSD showed a small but significant association with increased health symptom reports. However, nearly two-thirds of Gulf participants reporting moderate to high health symptoms had no axis I psychiatric diagnosis.
CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that rates of psychiatric illness were generally low with the exception of PTSD and major depression. Although PTSD was associated with higher rates of reported health problems, this disorder did not entirely account for symptoms reported by participants. Factors other than psychiatric status may play a role in Gulf War health problems.
Key Words: Gulf War veterans • health symptoms • posttraumatic stress disorder • major depressive disorder
Abbreviations: BSS = body-system symptom; CAPS = Clinician-AdministeredPTSD Scale; HSC = Health Symptom Checklist; MDD =major depressive disorder; PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder; SCID = structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R; VA =Veterans Administration.
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