Question:
While somatoform disorders (they won’t go away , will they?) were three times as common in the GWS sufferers, the article is merely concluding is that the syndrome can’t be explained by mental disorders in ALL cases. There is also an implication at the end that social influences are at work. There is considerable experience with inexplicable epidemic illnesses in the past showing how easily they are transmitted by contact with sufferers. This phenomenon may explain some. P Moran
IOW’s, you are going to hang on to what *organized medicine* has said in the past. Let go of the EGO and think of those who have suffered! Jan
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – While somatoform disorders (they won’t go away , will they?) were three times as common in the GWS sufferers, the article is merely concluding is that the syndrome can’t be explained by mental disorders in ALL cases. There is also an implication at the end that social influences are at work. There is considerable experience with inexplicable epidemic illnesses in the past showing how easily they are transmitted by contact with sufferers. This phenomenon may explain some. P Moran IOW’s, you are going to hang on to what *organized medicine* has said in the past.
No, he was referring to the conclusions of the study, which tell a different story than the Glib title does. Let go of the EGO and think of those who have suffered!
Let go of your conspiracy theories and think of the results of the study in and its context! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Jan
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – And Barrett’s opinion is simple wrong, and always has been. I wonder if he will update his website?? I emailed a copy. I’ll look back in a few weeks.
Great, please tell us the results. many times he has noted to update but hasn’t. Jan – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – The concept of a "Gulf War Syndrome" is appealing. It comes at a time when public distrust of Government is at an all-time high. It turns on conspiracies, a favorite theme of television producers. It provides the media with an endless parade of self-perceived victims. It provides a feeding trough for serious scientists, since funding is abundant, and for every charlatan with a newsworthy theory. It is a field day for politicians who solemnly promise to "get to the bottom" of the problem. The big losers in all of this are the ailing veterans whose confusion about what happened prevents them from getting on with their lives. ****The same thing can be said about people linked to other fad diagnoses.**** Gulf War Syndrome Not Due to a Mental Disorder Fri Sep 13,11:35 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The fatigue, irritability and various other symptoms reported by some Gulf War ( news – web sites) veterans do not seem to be caused by any psychiatric disorder, new study findings show. In fact, Gulf War veterans do not seem to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any other psychiatric illnesses than non-Gulf War veterans, UK researchers report. "Whatever is the nature of ill health in Gulf veterans, it can’t be explained by mental illness," Dr. Khalida Ismail of Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s School of Medicine in London told Reuters Health. "But we are still left with ‘why are Gulf veterans reporting ill health more often than non-Gulf veterans,"’ Ismail said. Some Gulf War veterans report a variety of symptoms, from tiredness, convulsions and respiratory and digestive problems to nerve damage, pain, numbness and psychological difficulties. The causes of the symptoms–commonly referred to as Gulf War syndrome ( news – web sites)–have been hotly debated and linked variously to the inoculations the veterans received, pesticide exposure, smoke from burning fires and stress. Some experts, however, believe that the syndrome is not due to a physical cause but rather a psychological one. To investigate the possible association between psychiatric disorders and the ill health reports, the researchers studied 111 UK Gulf War veterans with an unexplained physical disability and 98 non-disabled UK Gulf War veterans. The investigators compared their mental health status with that of other military personnel who either served in the 1992-1997 Bosnia peacekeeping mission or who were not deployed during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf conflict. Overall, disabled Gulf veterans were more likely to suffer from a psychiatric disorder than non-disabled veterans, the authors report in the September 14th issue of the British Medical Journal. Still, only about one in four disabled Gulf War veterans had some type of depression, anxiety, alcohol-related or other formal psychiatric disorder, and this rate was similar to that found among disabled non-Gulf War veterans, study findings indicate. The one exception was for somatoform disorders–characterized by unexplained physical symptoms that are either initiated or aggravated by psychological stress–which were three times more common among disabled Gulf War vets, the researchers note. Finally, all of the study groups had similarly low rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected from 1% to 3% of the disabled and non-disabled Gulf War veterans, and the non-Gulf War veterans, respectively. In light of the findings, "psychiatric disorders do not fully explain self-reported ill health in Gulf veterans; alternative explanations…are needed," the researchers conclude. Some possible reasons for the ill health reports may be due to the "high expectations of physical health in military personnel," or because "conventional concepts of what is psychologically traumatic may not apply to modern combat," according to Ismail. "For instance, while there were relatively few Allied casualties during the Gulf conflicts, the veterans experienced real risks from biological and chemical weapons," Ismail said. "How these risks were communicated and experienced by the veterans is poorly understood." Further, "more research is needed on the veterans’ mental health status before the Gulf conflict, as well as on the social mechanisms, such as the role of the media," Ismail said. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:576-591.
Response:
Forgetting Barrett for a moment, I was very upset witht he treatment the GulgGuys got after the war. It mimicked the treatment my brethren received after Vietnam, but, fortunately, no one spit on them. (Note, I was, at O’Hare in Chicago. The side effect was a broken leg. I was returning from a friends funeral. He killed himself as a result of the war. That was when I was still a nice guy.) I was also quite p*ssed when the champions of a strong military, a/k/a Concervative Republicans, cut back the VA in a major way in the 1980’s. Another screwing. That makes three in just twenty years. hopefully, this Bush won’t. However, I am not holding my breath (which may be a bad idea….) Have a nice weekend..
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – And Barrett’s opinion is simple wrong, and always has been. I wonder if he will update his website?? Jan The concept of a "Gulf War Syndrome" is appealing. It comes at a time when public distrust of Government is at an all-time high. It turns on conspiracies, a favorite theme of television producers. It provides the media with an endless parade of self-perceived victims. It provides a feeding trough for serious scientists, since funding is abundant, and for every charlatan with a newsworthy theory. It is a field day for politicians who solemnly promise to "get to the bottom" of the problem. The big losers in all of this are the ailing veterans whose confusion about what happened prevents them from getting on with their lives. ****The same thing can be said about people linked to other fad diagnoses.**** Gulf War Syndrome Not Due to a Mental Disorder Fri Sep 13,11:35 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The fatigue, irritability and various other symptoms reported by some Gulf War ( news – web sites) veterans do not seem to be caused by any psychiatric disorder, new study findings show. In fact, Gulf War veterans do not seem to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any other psychiatric illnesses than non-Gulf War veterans, UK researchers report. "Whatever is the nature of ill health in Gulf veterans, it can’t be explained by mental illness," Dr. Khalida Ismail of Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s School of Medicine in London told Reuters Health. "But we are still left with ‘why are Gulf veterans reporting ill health more often than non-Gulf veterans,"’ Ismail said. Some Gulf War veterans report a variety of symptoms, from tiredness, convulsions and respiratory and digestive problems to nerve damage, pain, numbness and psychological difficulties. The causes of the symptoms–commonly referred to as Gulf War syndrome ( news – web sites)–have been hotly debated and linked variously to the inoculations the veterans received, pesticide exposure, smoke from burning fires and stress. Some experts, however, believe that the syndrome is not due to a physical cause but rather a psychological one. To investigate the possible association between psychiatric disorders and the ill health reports, the researchers studied 111 UK Gulf War veterans with an unexplained physical disability and 98 non-disabled UK Gulf War veterans. The investigators compared their mental health status with that of other military personnel who either served in the 1992-1997 Bosnia peacekeeping mission or who were not deployed during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf conflict. Overall, disabled Gulf veterans were more likely to suffer from a psychiatric disorder than non-disabled veterans, the authors report in the September 14th issue of the British Medical Journal. Still, only about one in four disabled Gulf War veterans had some type of depression, anxiety, alcohol-related or other formal psychiatric disorder, and this rate was similar to that found among disabled non-Gulf War veterans, study findings indicate. The one exception was for somatoform disorders–characterized by unexplained physical symptoms that are either initiated or aggravated by psychological stress–which were three times more common among disabled Gulf War vets, the researchers note. Finally, all of the study groups had similarly low rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected from 1% to 3% of the disabled and non-disabled Gulf War veterans, and the non-Gulf War veterans, respectively. In light of the findings, "psychiatric disorders do not fully explain self-reported ill health in Gulf veterans; alternative explanations…are needed," the researchers conclude. Some possible reasons for the ill health reports may be due to the "high expectations of physical health in military personnel," or because "conventional concepts of what is psychologically traumatic may not apply to modern combat," according to Ismail. "For instance, while there were relatively few Allied casualties during the Gulf conflicts, the veterans experienced real risks from biological and chemical weapons," Ismail said. "How these risks were communicated and experienced by the veterans is poorly understood." Further, "more research is needed on the veterans’ mental health status before the Gulf conflict, as well as on the social mechanisms, such as the role of the media," Ismail said. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:576-591.
Response:
While somatoform disorders (they won’t go away , will they?) were three times as common in the GWS sufferers, the article is merely concluding is that the syndrome can’t be explained by mental disorders in ALL cases. There is also an implication at the end that social influences are at work. There is considerable experience with inexplicable epidemic illnesses in the past showing how easily they are transmitted by contact with sufferers. This phenomenon may explain some. P Moran
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – And Barrett’s opinion is simple wrong, and always has been. I wonder if he will update his website?? Jan The concept of a "Gulf War Syndrome" is appealing. It comes at a time when public distrust of Government is at an all-time high. It turns on conspiracies, a favorite theme of television producers. It provides the media with an endless parade of self-perceived victims. It provides a feeding trough for serious scientists, since funding is abundant, and for every charlatan with a newsworthy theory. It is a field day for politicians who solemnly promise to "get to the bottom" of the problem. The big losers in all of this are the ailing veterans whose confusion about what happened prevents them from getting on with their lives. ****The same thing can be said about people linked to other fad diagnoses.**** Gulf War Syndrome Not Due to a Mental Disorder Fri Sep 13,11:35 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The fatigue, irritability and various other symptoms reported by some Gulf War ( news – web sites) veterans do not seem to be caused by any psychiatric disorder, new study findings show. In fact, Gulf War veterans do not seem to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any other psychiatric illnesses than non-Gulf War veterans, UK researchers report. "Whatever is the nature of ill health in Gulf veterans, it can’t be explained by mental illness," Dr. Khalida Ismail of Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s School of Medicine in London told Reuters Health. "But we are still left with ‘why are Gulf veterans reporting ill health more often than non-Gulf veterans,"’ Ismail said. Some Gulf War veterans report a variety of symptoms, from tiredness, convulsions and respiratory and digestive problems to nerve damage, pain, numbness and psychological difficulties. The causes of the symptoms–commonly referred to as Gulf War syndrome ( news – web sites)–have been hotly debated and linked variously to the inoculations the veterans received, pesticide exposure, smoke from burning fires and stress. Some experts, however, believe that the syndrome is not due to a physical cause but rather a psychological one. To investigate the possible association between psychiatric disorders and the ill health reports, the researchers studied 111 UK Gulf War veterans with an unexplained physical disability and 98 non-disabled UK Gulf War veterans. The investigators compared their mental health status with that of other military personnel who either served in the 1992-1997 Bosnia peacekeeping mission or who were not deployed during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf conflict. Overall, disabled Gulf veterans were more likely to suffer from a psychiatric disorder than non-disabled veterans, the authors report in the September 14th issue of the British Medical Journal. Still, only about one in four disabled Gulf War veterans had some type of depression, anxiety, alcohol-related or other formal psychiatric disorder, and this rate was similar to that found among disabled non-Gulf War veterans, study findings indicate. The one exception was for somatoform disorders–characterized by unexplained physical symptoms that are either initiated or aggravated by psychological stress–which were three times more common among disabled Gulf War vets, the researchers note. Finally, all of the study groups had similarly low rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected from 1% to 3% of the disabled and non-disabled Gulf War veterans, and the non-Gulf War veterans, respectively. In light of the findings, "psychiatric disorders do not fully explain self-reported ill health in Gulf veterans; alternative explanations…are needed," the researchers conclude. Some possible reasons for the ill health reports may be due to the "high expectations of physical health in military personnel," or because "conventional concepts of what is psychologically traumatic may not apply to modern combat," according to Ismail. "For instance, while there were relatively few Allied casualties during the Gulf conflicts, the veterans experienced real risks from biological and chemical weapons," Ismail said. "How these risks were communicated and experienced by the veterans is poorly understood." Further, "more research is needed on the veterans’ mental health status before the Gulf conflict, as well as on the social mechanisms, such as the role of the media," Ismail said. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:576-591.
Response:
And Barrett’s opinion is simple wrong, and always has been. I wonder if he will update his website??
I emailed a copy. I’ll look back in a few weeks. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Jan The concept of a "Gulf War Syndrome" is appealing. It comes at a time when public distrust of Government is at an all-time high. It turns on conspiracies, a favorite theme of television producers. It provides the media with an endless parade of self-perceived victims. It provides a feeding trough for serious scientists, since funding is abundant, and for every charlatan with a newsworthy theory. It is a field day for politicians who solemnly promise to "get to the bottom" of the problem. The big losers in all of this are the ailing veterans whose confusion about what happened prevents them from getting on with their lives. ****The same thing can be said about people linked to other fad diagnoses.**** Gulf War Syndrome Not Due to a Mental Disorder Fri Sep 13,11:35 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The fatigue, irritability and various other symptoms reported by some Gulf War ( news – web sites) veterans do not seem to be caused by any psychiatric disorder, new study findings show. In fact, Gulf War veterans do not seem to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any other psychiatric illnesses than non-Gulf War veterans, UK researchers report. "Whatever is the nature of ill health in Gulf veterans, it can’t be explained by mental illness," Dr. Khalida Ismail of Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s School of Medicine in London told Reuters Health. "But we are still left with ‘why are Gulf veterans reporting ill health more often than non-Gulf veterans,"’ Ismail said. Some Gulf War veterans report a variety of symptoms, from tiredness, convulsions and respiratory and digestive problems to nerve damage, pain, numbness and psychological difficulties. The causes of the symptoms–commonly referred to as Gulf War syndrome ( news – web sites)–have been hotly debated and linked variously to the inoculations the veterans received, pesticide exposure, smoke from burning fires and stress. Some experts, however, believe that the syndrome is not due to a physical cause but rather a psychological one. To investigate the possible association between psychiatric disorders and the ill health reports, the researchers studied 111 UK Gulf War veterans with an unexplained physical disability and 98 non-disabled UK Gulf War veterans. The investigators compared their mental health status with that of other military personnel who either served in the 1992-1997 Bosnia peacekeeping mission or who were not deployed during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf conflict. Overall, disabled Gulf veterans were more likely to suffer from a psychiatric disorder than non-disabled veterans, the authors report in the September 14th issue of the British Medical Journal. Still, only about one in four disabled Gulf War veterans had some type of depression, anxiety, alcohol-related or other formal psychiatric disorder, and this rate was similar to that found among disabled non-Gulf War veterans, study findings indicate. The one exception was for somatoform disorders–characterized by unexplained physical symptoms that are either initiated or aggravated by psychological stress–which were three times more common among disabled Gulf War vets, the researchers note. Finally, all of the study groups had similarly low rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected from 1% to 3% of the disabled and non-disabled Gulf War veterans, and the non-Gulf War veterans, respectively. In light of the findings, "psychiatric disorders do not fully explain self-reported ill health in Gulf veterans; alternative explanations…are needed," the researchers conclude. Some possible reasons for the ill health reports may be due to the "high expectations of physical health in military personnel," or because "conventional concepts of what is psychologically traumatic may not apply to modern combat," according to Ismail. "For instance, while there were relatively few Allied casualties during the Gulf conflicts, the veterans experienced real risks from biological and chemical weapons," Ismail said. "How these risks were communicated and experienced by the veterans is poorly understood." Further, "more research is needed on the veterans’ mental health status before the Gulf conflict, as well as on the social mechanisms, such as the role of the media," Ismail said. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:576-591.
Response:
Gulf War Syndrome Not Due to a Mental Disorder Fri Sep 13,11:35 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The fatigue, irritability and various other symptoms reported by some Gulf War ( news – web sites) veterans do not seem to be caused by any psychiatric disorder, new study findings show. In fact, Gulf War veterans do not seem to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any other psychiatric illnesses than non-Gulf War veterans, UK researchers report. "Whatever is the nature of ill health in Gulf veterans, it can’t be explained by mental illness," Dr. Khalida Ismail of Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s School of Medicine in London told Reuters Health. "But we are still left with ‘why are Gulf veterans reporting ill health more often than non-Gulf veterans,"’ Ismail said. Some Gulf War veterans report a variety of symptoms, from tiredness, convulsions and respiratory and digestive problems to nerve damage, pain, numbness and psychological difficulties. The causes of the symptoms–commonly referred to as Gulf War syndrome ( news – web sites)–have been hotly debated and linked variously to the inoculations the veterans received, pesticide exposure, smoke from burning fires and stress. Some experts, however, believe that the syndrome is not due to a physical cause but rather a psychological one. To investigate the possible association between psychiatric disorders and the ill health reports, the researchers studied 111 UK Gulf War veterans with an unexplained physical disability and 98 non-disabled UK Gulf War veterans. The investigators compared their mental health status with that of other military personnel who either served in the 1992-1997 Bosnia peacekeeping mission or who were not deployed during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf conflict. Overall, disabled Gulf veterans were more likely to suffer from a psychiatric disorder than non-disabled veterans, the authors report in the September 14th issue of the British Medical Journal. Still, only about one in four disabled Gulf War veterans had some type of depression, anxiety, alcohol-related or other formal psychiatric disorder, and this rate was similar to that found among disabled non-Gulf War veterans, study findings indicate. The one exception was for somatoform disorders–characterized by unexplained physical symptoms that are either initiated or aggravated by psychological stress–which were three times more common among disabled Gulf War vets, the researchers note. Finally, all of the study groups had similarly low rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected from 1% to 3% of the disabled and non-disabled Gulf War veterans, and the non-Gulf War veterans, respectively. In light of the findings, "psychiatric disorders do not fully explain self-reported ill health in Gulf veterans; alternative explanations…are needed," the researchers conclude. Some possible reasons for the ill health reports may be due to the "high expectations of physical health in military personnel," or because "conventional concepts of what is psychologically traumatic may not apply to modern combat," according to Ismail. "For instance, while there were relatively few Allied casualties during the Gulf conflicts, the veterans experienced real risks from biological and chemical weapons," Ismail said. "How these risks were communicated and experienced by the veterans is poorly understood." Further, "more research is needed on the veterans’ mental health status before the Gulf conflict, as well as on the social mechanisms, such as the role of the media," Ismail said. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:576-591.
Response:
And Barrett’s opinion is simple wrong, and always has been. I wonder if he will update his website?? Jan The concept of a "Gulf War Syndrome" is appealing. It comes at a time when
public distrust of Government is at an all-time high. It turns on conspiracies, a favorite theme of television producers. It provides the media with an endless parade of self-perceived victims. It provides a feeding trough for serious scientists, since funding is abundant, and for every charlatan with a newsworthy theory. It is a field day for politicians who solemnly promise to "get to the bottom" of the problem. The big losers in all of this are the ailing veterans whose confusion about what happened prevents them from getting on with their lives. ****The same thing can be said about people linked to other fad diagnoses.**** – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Gulf War Syndrome Not Due to a Mental Disorder Fri Sep 13,11:35 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The fatigue, irritability and various other symptoms reported by some Gulf War ( news – web sites) veterans do not seem to be caused by any psychiatric disorder, new study findings show. In fact, Gulf War veterans do not seem to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or any other psychiatric illnesses than non-Gulf War veterans, UK researchers report. "Whatever is the nature of ill health in Gulf veterans, it can’t be explained by mental illness," Dr. Khalida Ismail of Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s School of Medicine in London told Reuters Health. "But we are still left with ‘why are Gulf veterans reporting ill health more often than non-Gulf veterans,"’ Ismail said. Some Gulf War veterans report a variety of symptoms, from tiredness, convulsions and respiratory and digestive problems to nerve damage, pain, numbness and psychological difficulties. The causes of the symptoms–commonly referred to as Gulf War syndrome ( news – web sites)–have been hotly debated and linked variously to the inoculations the veterans received, pesticide exposure, smoke from burning fires and stress. Some experts, however, believe that the syndrome is not due to a physical cause but rather a psychological one. To investigate the possible association between psychiatric disorders and the ill health reports, the researchers studied 111 UK Gulf War veterans with an unexplained physical disability and 98 non-disabled UK Gulf War veterans. The investigators compared their mental health status with that of other military personnel who either served in the 1992-1997 Bosnia peacekeeping mission or who were not deployed during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf conflict. Overall, disabled Gulf veterans were more likely to suffer from a psychiatric disorder than non-disabled veterans, the authors report in the September 14th issue of the British Medical Journal. Still, only about one in four disabled Gulf War veterans had some type of depression, anxiety, alcohol-related or other formal psychiatric disorder, and this rate was similar to that found among disabled non-Gulf War veterans, study findings indicate. The one exception was for somatoform disorders–characterized by unexplained physical symptoms that are either initiated or aggravated by psychological stress–which were three times more common among disabled Gulf War vets, the researchers note. Finally, all of the study groups had similarly low rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, which affected from 1% to 3% of the disabled and non-disabled Gulf War veterans, and the non-Gulf War veterans, respectively. In light of the findings, "psychiatric disorders do not fully explain self-reported ill health in Gulf veterans; alternative explanations…are needed," the researchers conclude. Some possible reasons for the ill health reports may be due to the "high expectations of physical health in military personnel," or because "conventional concepts of what is psychologically traumatic may not apply to modern combat," according to Ismail. "For instance, while there were relatively few Allied casualties during the Gulf conflicts, the veterans experienced real risks from biological and chemical weapons," Ismail said. "How these risks were communicated and experienced by the veterans is poorly understood." Further, "more research is needed on the veterans’ mental health status before the Gulf conflict, as well as on the social mechanisms, such as the role of the media," Ismail said. SOURCE: British Medical Journal 2002;325:576-591.
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