Mortality among US veterans of the Persian Gulf War: 13-year follow-up

This follow-up study of long-term health consequences of the 1991 Persian Gulf War compares cause-specific mortality rates of 621,902 Gulf War veterans to 746,248 non-Gulf veterans. Cox proportional-hazard models are used for analyses. The data are stratified by gender and models control for age, race, marital status at entry to follow-up, service branch, and unit type. Army Gulf War veterans were stratified by oil well fire smoke and potential exposure to a nerve agent from the demolition at Khamisiyah ammunition depot. Vital status follow-up begins with the date the veteran left the Gulf War Theater (for Gulf War veterans) or May 1, 1991 (for controls) and ends with the veteran's date of death or December 31, 2004. Since our last follow-up through 1997, there have been few changes in mortality rates among Gulf War and non-Gulf veterans. Male Gulf War veterans no longer have higher rates of motor vehicle accidents compared to non-Gulf males, though the mortality rate among women Gulf War veterans is still significantly higher than non-Gulf women. Married Gulf War women were two times more likely to commit suicide compared to married non-Gulf women. Army Gulf War veterans who were potentially exposed to nerve agents at Khamisiyah or oil well fire smoke had a higher mortality rate of brain cancer compared to Army veterans who were not considered exposed. All veterans in this cohort had lower rates of mortality when compared to the US population.