Experts Criticize Gulf War Illness Study Pentagon Probe Was Short Of Facts, An Institute Of Medicine Committee Says

A Defense Department study did not adequately support with facts its conclusions that no unique illness or syndrome exists among Persian Gulf War veterans, a committee of medical experts said Monday.

The committee of the Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences and which analyzed the study at the Pentagon’s request, said the reasoning in the study was “not well-explained” and recommended that the department “either be more cautious in making this conclusion, or justify it better.”

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said a study of more than 10,000 veterans of Operation Desert Storm in 1991 found no evidence of any new or unusual “Gulf War disease,” despite thousands of complaints from servicemen and women.

Many have reported symptoms of fatigue, joint pain, headaches, sleep disturbances, depression and other ailments, including the belief that symptoms have been transmitted to spouses and subsequent offspring.

“If indeed there were a new, unique Persian Gulf-related illness that could cause serious disability in a high proportion of veterans at risk, it would probably be detectable in a population of 10,020 patients,” the committee said.

“On the other hand, if the illness were either mild or only affected a small proportion of veterans at risk, it might not be detectable in a case series, no matter how large.”

The institute said it was “likely that at least a few … patients have developed illnesses directly related to the Persian Gulf service,” among them infectious diseases that are rare outside the Middle East and psychological stress that may have exacerbated physical or mental illnesses.

The Pentagon study did not mention those illnesses. The committee “considers this to be a serious omission,” its report said.

The Defense Department study also erred by emphasizing environmental, instead of psychological, factors, such as chemical or biological agents, the report said.

The institute released its findings as a White House advisory panel created by President Clinton to study the problem convened its first meeting.