TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of the functional health limitations of veterans deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan to veterans deployed to desert shield/storm with chronic fatigue syndrome
AU - McAndrew, Lisa M.
AU - Chandler, Helena K.
AU - Serrador, Jorge M.
AU - Quigley, Karen S.
AU - Natelson, Benjamin H.
AU - Lange, Gudrun
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The majority of studies to examine the levels of physical symptoms after Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) deployment have found that veterans experience high levels of physical symptoms after deployment. What is not known is whether the physical symptoms experienced by OEF/OIF veterans meet criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), as was seen after Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm. This determination would require a medical evaluation to rule out medical conditions that may explain the symptoms. Further, it is not well known if the physical symptoms experienced by OEF/OIF veterans are causing significant functional impairment. We compared OEF/OIF veterans with CFS to Desert Shield/Storm veterans with CFS seen at a post deployment Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic soon after their respective deployments. We found 17.6% of OEF/OIF veterans met criteria for CFS. Compared to Desert Shield/Desert Storm veterans with CFS, the OEF/OIF veterans with CFS demonstrated poorer mental health function and similar physical health function.
AB - The majority of studies to examine the levels of physical symptoms after Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) deployment have found that veterans experience high levels of physical symptoms after deployment. What is not known is whether the physical symptoms experienced by OEF/OIF veterans meet criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), as was seen after Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm. This determination would require a medical evaluation to rule out medical conditions that may explain the symptoms. Further, it is not well known if the physical symptoms experienced by OEF/OIF veterans are causing significant functional impairment. We compared OEF/OIF veterans with CFS to Desert Shield/Storm veterans with CFS seen at a post deployment Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic soon after their respective deployments. We found 17.6% of OEF/OIF veterans met criteria for CFS. Compared to Desert Shield/Desert Storm veterans with CFS, the OEF/OIF veterans with CFS demonstrated poorer mental health function and similar physical health function.
UR - https://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:65957
U2 - 10.1080/21635781.2016.1175980
DO - 10.1080/21635781.2016.1175980
M3 - Article
SN - 2163-5781
VL - 4
SP - 299
EP - 306
JO - Military Behavioral Health
JF - Military Behavioral Health
IS - 3
ER -