Table 2.
Summary of self-reported symptoms/diseases by deployment (ordered by frequency of reported ill health categories among GWV)
| Self-reported symptom | Frequency (%) | GWV vs. NGWV | |
| GWV1(n = 23,358)2 | NGWV1(n = 17,730)2 | Adjusted odds ratio 3 (95% CI) | |
| All reporting ≥ 1 new symptom/disease since 1990 | 14,1742 (60.7) | 6,5052 (36.7) | 2.7 (2.5–2.8)*** |
| Mental and behavioural disorders | 4,691 (20.1) | 634 (3.6) | 6.7 (6.1–7.3)*** |
| Memory loss / lack of concentration | 1,883 (7.9) | 76 (0.4) | 19.6 (15.5–24.8)*** |
| Mood swings / aggression / irritability | 1,712 (7.3) | 62 (0.4) | 20.9 (16.2–27.0)*** |
| Anxiety / stress / sleep disturbance | 1,212 (5.2) | 272 (1.5) | 3.4 (3.0–3.9)*** |
| Depression | 1,005 (4.3) | 203 (1.1) | 3.6 (3.1–4.2)*** |
| PTSD and associated symptoms (mentioned specifically) | 231 (1.0) | 68 (0.4) | 2.4 (1.8–3.1)*** |
| Sexual dysfunction / lack of sex drive | 192 (0.8) | 35 (0.2) | 4.6 (3.2–6.6)*** |
| Other psychiatric / psychological disorders NOS4 | 380 (1.6) | 65 (0.4) | 3.9 (3.0–5.1)*** |
| Musculo-skeletal & connective tissue disorders | 3,807 (16.3) | 2,387 (13.5) | 1.2 (1.2–1.3)*** |
| Skeletal & other muscular symptoms | 3,523 (15.1) | 2,346 (13.2) | 1.1 (1.1–1.2)*** |
| Muscular pain / weakness (mentioned specifically) | 460 (2.0) | 77 (0.4) | 4.5 (3.5–5.7)*** |
| Other symptoms NOS4 | 3,058 (13.1) | 1,146 (6.5) | 2.2 (2.0–2.3)*** |
| Fatigue | 2,632 (11.3) | 236 (1.3) | 9.1 (8.0–10.5)*** |
| General fatigue | 2,532 (10.8) | 215 (1.2) | 9.6 (8.3–11.1)*** |
| Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME (mentioned specifically) | 100 (0.4) | 21 (0.1) | 3.5 (2.1–5.5)*** |
| Nervous system disorders | 2,104 (9.0) | 435 (2.5) | 3.8 (3.4–4.2)*** |
| Headaches | 1,554 (6.7) | 280 (1.6) | 4.2 (3.7–4.8)*** |
| Numbness / tingling / dizziness | 460 (2.0) | 93 (0.5) | 3.6 (2.9–4.6)*** |
| Epilepsy | 53 (0.2) | 21 (0.1) | 1.6 (1.0–2.7) |
| Other neurological and neuromuscular problems NOS4 | 217 (0.9) | 68 (0.4) | 2.4 (1.8–3.1)*** |
| Infection | 1,898 (8.1) | 606 (3.4) | 2.5 (2.3–2.7)*** |
| Chronic / frequent infection | 1,351 (5.8) | 278 (1.6) | 3.8 (3.3–4.3)*** |
| Single episodes of acute infection | 635 (2.7) | 351 (2.0) | 1.4 (1.2–1.6)*** |
| Skin allergies | 1,782 (7.6) | 414 (2.3) | 3.3 (3.0–3.7)*** |
| Respiratory disorders | 1,468 (6.3) | 569 (3.2) | 2.0 (1.8–2.2)*** |
| Asthma | 608 (2.6) | 374 (2.1) | 1.2 (1.1–1.4)** |
| Respiratory problems NOS4 | 898 (3.8) | 204 (1.2) | 3.3 (2.9–3.9)*** |
| Digestive, stomach & intestinal disorders | 1,377 (5.9) | 538 (3.0) | 2.0 (1.8–2.2)*** |
| Deterioration in general health | 852 (3.7) | 510 (2.9) | 1.3 (1.1–1.4)*** |
| General deterioration of eyesight / hearing | 582 (2.5) | 465 (2.6) | 1.0 (0.8–1.1) |
| General decline in fitness / health | 280 (1.2) | 48 (0.3) | 4.4 (3.2–6.0)*** |
| Cardiovascular disorders | 675 (2.9) | 442 (2.5) | 1.3 (1.1–1.4)*** |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders | 624 (2.7) | 210 (1.2) | 2.2 (1.9–2.6)*** |
| Hormonal imbalance / problems | 70 (0.3) | 38 (0.2) | 1.5 (1.0–2.2) |
| Diabetes | 57 (0.2) | 64 (0.4) | 0.7 (0.5–1.0) |
| Weight gain / loss | 504 (2.2) | 109 (0.6) | 3.4 (2.7–4.1)*** |
| Genito-urinary system disorders | 464 (2.0) | 198 (1.1) | 1.8 (1.5–2.1)*** |
| Genital system & bladder problems5 | 276 (1.2) | 99 (0.6) | 2.2 (1.7–2.7)*** |
| Kidney disease / symptoms | 209 (0.9) | 103 (0.6) | 1.5 (1.2–1.9)** |
| Chest pains / tightness (not elsewhere classified) | 399 (1.7) | 134 (0.8) | 2.2 (1.8–2.6)*** |
| Allergies other than skin | 369 (1.6) | 161 (0.9) | 1.8 (1.5–2.1)*** |
| Night sweats / excessive sweating / "fevers" | 315 (1.4) | 23 (0.1) | 9.9 (6.5–15.2)*** |
| Accidental injury | 294 (1.3) | 460 (2.6) | 0.5 (0.4–0.5)*** |
| Auto-immune disease | 241 (1.0) | 196 (1.1) | 1.0 (0.8–1.2) |
| Cancer6 | 127 (0.5) | 88 (0.5) | 1.1 (0.9–1.5) |
1Subject can appear in the table as many times as they reported different symptoms. More than one symptom within a group in the same subject counted once only. Number of symptoms in sub-groups may not add up to group total if more than one symptom was recorded within the group for the same subject. 2Denominators and number of veterans reporting ≥ 1 new symptom/disease since 1990 are different to the numbers reported in Table 1 as some respondents did not give specific details of their symptoms/diseases and could not therefore be included in this table. 3Adjusted for age at survey, service and rank at time of Gulf war, serving status at time of survey, alcohol consumption and smoking. 4Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) 5Category includes those reporting 'burning semen' GWV 13 (0.1%); NGW 1 (0.0%) 6Includes all reported malignant neoplasms, plus all reported brain tumours, benign or malignant. * 0.01 < p < 0.05 ** 0.001 < p < 0.01 *** p < 0.001