Multiple vaccines received during deployment may explain Gulf war illness

Gulf war veterans who said they received multiple vaccines during the conflict report worse health than those who received fewer vaccines or those who received multiple vaccines before deployment. Military personnel who served in the Gulf have increased rates of non-specific symptoms when compared with other military populations, and stress of deployment in combination with a large antigen load may result in a shift in immune state that causes symptoms. Hotopf et al (p 1363) tested this hypothesis using data from a large survey of Gulf war veterans. Exposure to multiple vaccines during deployment was associated with symptoms such as fatigue, poor health perception, and decrements in physical functioning. This preliminary study implies that every effort should be made to maintain routine vaccines during peacetime.

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Relevant Article

Role of vaccinations as risk factors for ill health in veterans of the Gulf war: cross sectional study

Matthew Hotopf, Anthony David, Lisa Hull, Khalida Ismail, Catherine Unwin, and Simon Wessely
BMJ 2000 320: 1363-1367. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]