Reproductive health of male Australian veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

Background: Since the 1991 Gulf War concerns have been raised about the effects of deployment to the Gulf War on veterans' health. Studies of the reproductive health of Gulf War veterans have reported varied findings.

Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study of male Australian Gulf War veterans (n = 1,424) and a randomly sampled military comparison group (n = 1,548).

What was different about exposures reported by male Australian Gulf War veterans for the 1991 Persian Gulf War, compared with exposures reported for other deployments?

This study identified chemical and environmental exposures specifically associated with the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Exposures were self-reported in a postal questionnaire, in the period of 2000-2002, by 1,424 Australian male Persian Gulf War veterans in relation to their 1991 Persian Gulf War deployment and by 625 Persian Gulf War veterans and 514 members of a military comparison group in relation to other active deployments. Six of 28 investigated exposures were experienced more frequently during the Persian Gulf War than during other deployments; these were exposure to smoke (odds ratio [OR], 4.

Hazardous or harmful alcohol use in Royal Australian Navy veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: identification of high risk subgroups.

Elevated alcohol use disorders have been observed in 1991 Gulf War veterans from a variety of countries. This study used a self-report instrument, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), to ascertain whether any subgroups of 1232 male Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Gulf War veterans were at higher risk of hazardous or harmful alcohol use. Recursive partitioning/classification and regression tree (CART) analysis, followed by logistic regression, found five subgroups among the veterans, with differing risks of AUDIT caseness.

Neurological status of Australian veterans of the 1991 Gulf War and the effect of medical and chemical exposures.

Background: Since the 1991 Gulf War, concerns have been voiced about the effects on the health of veterans of Gulf War related medical and chemical exposures.

Methods: Our cross-sectional study compared 1424 male Australian Gulf War veterans and a randomly sampled military comparison group (n = 1548). A postal questionnaire asked about the presence of current neurological type symptoms, medically diagnosed neurological conditions, and medical and chemical exposures.

War-related psychological stressors and risk of psychological disorders in Australian veterans of the 1991 Gulf War.

Background: Questions remain about the long-term health impacts of the 1991 Gulf War on its veterans.

Aims: To measure psychological disorders in Australian Gulf War veterans and a military comparison group and to explore any association with exposure to Gulf War-related psychological stressors.

Method: Prevalences of DSM-IV psychological disorders were measured using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.