Is Gulf War illness accounted for by Gulf War specific exposures?
If, however, there are exposures that result in symptoms specific to a conflict then the exposure(s) may also be specific. In the Australian Gulf War study six exposures were reported significantly more frequently by veterans of the Gulf War than by the Australian veterans of other active deployments. These were exposure to dust or SMOIL or chemical warfare agents, the use of chemical protective clothing or respiratory protective equipment, and entering or inspecting enemy equipment (Glass et al. in press). UK Gulf War veterans were also more likely than a Bosnian War veterans’ comparison group to report having heard chemical alarms and to believe that they had been exposed to chemical warfare agents (Unwin et al. 1999). Thus, there are several exposures that were specific or much more common to the Gulf War but these have not been isolated in several Gulf War veterans’ studies.
