Table 3.
Summary of self-reported symptoms/diseases among GWV by GWS status (ordered by frequency of reported ill health categories among GWS)
| Self-reported symptom | Frequency (%) | Adjusted2 odds ratio (95% CI) | |||
|
GWS1 (n = 1,296) |
unsure-GWS1 (n = 9,443) |
non-GWS1 (n= 12,364) |
GWS vs non-GWS | unsure GWS vs. non-GWS | |
| All reporting ≥ 1 new symptom /disease since 1990 | 1,260 (97.2) | 7,929 (84.0) | 4,830 (39.1) | 48.2 (34.5–67.4)*** | 8.0 (7.5–8.6)*** |
| Mental and behavioural disorders | 775 (59.8) | 3,076 (32.6) | 793 (6.4) | 18.3 (15.9–21.0)*** | 6.6 (6.0–7.1)*** |
| Memory loss / lack of concentration | 295 (22.8) | 1,249 (13.2) | 274 (2.2) | 12.1 (10.0–14.7)*** | 6.6 (5.7–7.5)*** |
| Mood swings / aggression / irritability | 327 (25.2) | 1,147 (12.2) | 214 (1.7) | 16.1 (13.2–19.7)*** | 6.9 (5.9–8.0)*** |
| Anxiety / stress / sleep disturbance | 220 (17.0) | 769 (8.1) | 213 (1.7) | 10.8 (8.7–13.5)*** | 4.7 (4.1–5.6)*** |
| Depression | 245 (18.9) | 613 (6.5) | 137 (1.1) | 16.1 (12.7–20.4)*** | 5.5 (4.5–6.6)*** |
| PTSD and associated symptoms (mentioned specifically) | 91 (7.0) | 116 (1.2) | 21 (0.2) | 34.9 (20.8–58.7)*** | 6.4 (4.0–10.5)*** |
| Sexual dysfunction / lack of sex drive | 42 (3.2) | 123 (1.3) | 27 (0.2) | 13.1 (7.7–22.3)*** | 6.4 (4.2–9.9)*** |
| Other psychiatric / psychological disorders NOS3 | 93 (7.2) | 237 (2.5) | 47 (0.4) | 14.7 (10.0–21.7)*** | 5.7 (4.1–7.9)*** |
| Musculo-skeletal & connective tissue disorders | 500 (38.6) | 2,118 (22.4) | 1,156 (9.4) | 5.3 (4.6–6.1)*** | 2.6 (2.4–2.9)*** |
| Skeletal & other muscular symptoms | 441 (34.0) | 1,944 (20.6) | 1,107 (9.0) | 4.5 (3.9–5.2)*** | 2.5 (2.3–2.7)*** |
| Muscular pain / weakness (mentioned specifically) | 122 (9.4) | 265 (2.8) | 68 (0.6) | 16.2 (11.7–22.5)*** | 5.1 (3.9–6.7)*** |
| Fatigue | 462 (35.7) | 1,742 (18.5) | 397 (3.2) | 15.4 (13.1–18.2)*** | 6.9 (6.1–7.7)*** |
| General fatigue | 405 (31.3) | 1,707 (18.1) | 389 (3.2) | 13.1 (11.1–15.5)*** | 6.8 (6.1–7.7)*** |
| Chronic fatigue syndrome / ME (mentioned specifically) | 57 (4.4) | 35 (0.4) | 8 (0.1) | 65.3 (29.4–145.1)*** | 6.1 (2.8–13.5)*** |
| Other symptoms NOS3 | 407 (31.4) | 1,720 (18.2) | 908 (7.3) | 5.4 (4.7–6.3)*** | 2.8 (2.6–3.1)*** |
| Nervous system disorders | 373 (28.8) | 1,284 (13.6) | 415 (3.4) | 10.0 (8.4–11.8)*** | 4.1 (3.6–4.6)*** |
| Headaches | 266 (20.5) | 958 (10.2) | 308 (2.5) | 8.7 (7.2–10.6)*** | 3.9 (3.4–4.5)*** |
| Numbness / tingling / dizziness | 101 (7.8) | 270 (2.9) | 82 (0.7) | 9.4 (6.8–12.9)*** | 4.0 (3.1–5.2)*** |
| Epilepsy | 12 (0.9) | 30 (0.3) | 9 (0.1) | 13.0 (5.0–34.1)*** | 3.5 (1.6–7.5)** |
| Other neurological and neuromuscular problems NOS3 | 61 (4.7) | 114 (1.2) | 36 (0.3) | 14.3 (9.1–22.5)*** | 4.2 (2.8–6.2)*** |
| Skin allergies | 242 (18.7) | 994 (10.5) | 531 (4.3) | 4.9 (4.1–5.9)*** | 2.5 (2.3–2.8)*** |
| Digestive, stomach & intestinal disorders | 194 (15.0) | 813 (8.6) | 355 (2.9) | 5.5 (4.5–6.7)*** | 3.2 (2.8–3.7)*** |
| Respiratory disorders | 194 (15.0) | 860 (9.1) | 400 (3.2) | 5.1 (4.2–6.2)*** | 3.0 (2.6–3.4)*** |
| Asthma | 71 (5.5) | 342 (3.6) | 188 (1.5) | 3.8 (2.8–5.1)*** | 2.5 (2.1–3.0)*** |
| Respiratory problems NOS3 | 128 (9.9) | 540 (5.7) | 222 (1.8) | 5.6 (4.4–7.2)*** | 3.2 (2.7–3.8)*** |
| Infection | 164 (12.7) | 1,102 (11.7) | 609 (4.9) | 2.9 (2.4–3.5)*** | 2.6 (2.4–2.9)*** |
| Chronic / frequent infection | 122 (9.4) | 842 (8.9) | 372 (3.0) | 3.5 (2.8–4.4)*** | 3.3 (2.9–3.7)*** |
| Single episodes of acute infection | 55 (4.2) | 319 (3.4) | 253 (2.1) | 2.2 (1.6–3.0)*** | 1.8 (1.5–2.1)*** |
| Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic disorders | 116 (9.0) | 366 (3.9) | 134 (1.1) | 7.4 (5.6–9.8)*** | 3.4 (2.8–4.2)*** |
| Hormonal imbalance / problems | 14 (1.1) | 36 (0.4) | 20 (0.2) | 7.0 (3.3–14.8)*** | 2.4 (1.4–4.2)*** |
| Diabetes | 8 (0.6) | 29 (0.3) | 20 (0.2) | 3.3 (1.4–7.9)*** | 2.0 (1.1–3.6)* |
| Weight gain / loss | 95 (7.3) | 306 (3.2) | 95 (0.8) | 8.0 (5.8–10.9)*** | 3.9 (3.1–4.9)*** |
| Deterioration in general health | 92 (7.1) | 494 (5.2) | 256 (2.1) | 3.2 (2.5–4.2)*** | 2.5 (2.1–2.9)*** |
| General deterioration of eyesight / hearing | 53 (4.1) | 310 (3.3) | 212 (1.7) | 2.2 (1.6–3.0)*** | 1.9 (1.5–2.2)*** |
| General decline in fitness / health | 41 (3.2) | 191 (2.0) | 45 (0.4) | 8.3 (5.1–13.5)*** | 5.7 (4.1–8.0)*** |
| Cardiovascular disorders | 90 (6.9) | 344 (3.6) | 237 (1.9) | 3.8 (2.9–5.0)*** | 2.1 (1.8–2.5)*** |
| Genito-urinary system disorders | 77 (5.9) | 238 (2.5) | 143 (1.2) | 5.3 (3.9–7.2)*** | 2.3 (1.8–2.8)*** |
| Genital system & bladder problems4 | 46 (3.6) | 150 (1.6) | 79 (0.6) | 6.1 (4.0–9.2)*** | 2.7 (2.0–3.6)*** |
| Kidney disease / symptoms | 35 (2.7) | 101 (1.1) | 68 (0.6) | 4.4 (2.8–6.9)*** | 1.9 (1.4–2.6)*** |
| Night sweats / excessive sweating / "fevers" | 77 (5.9) | 185 (2.0) | 49 (0.4) | 13.7 (9.2–20.2)*** | 4.7 (3.4–6.5)*** |
| Chest pains / tightness (not elsewhere classified) | 56 (4.3) | 253 (2.7) | 87 (0.7) | 5.5 (3.8–7.9)*** | 3.3 (2.6–4.3)*** |
| Auto-immune disease | 37 (2.9) | 136 (1.4) | 64 (0.5) | 5.2 (3.3–8.1)*** | 2.8 (2.1–3.8)*** |
| Allergies other than skin | 31 (2.4) | 197 (2.1) | 136 (1.1) | 2.7 (1.8–4.1)*** | 2.2 (1.7–2.8)*** |
| Cancer5 | 19 (1.5) | 61 (0.7) | 42 (0.3) | 5.1 (2.8–9.2)*** | 2.3 (1.5–3.4)*** |
| Accidental injury | 14 (1.1) | 128 (1.4) | 146 (1.2) | 0.9 (0.5–1.5) | 1.1 (0.8–1.4) |
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. 2Adjusted for age at survey, service and rank at time of Gulf war, serving status at time of survey, alcohol consumption and smoking. 3Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) 4Category includes those reporting 'burning semen' GWS 6 (0.5%); unsure-GWS 5 (0.1%); non-GWS 2 (0.0%) 5Includes 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